Residents Of Carnegie Fear More Flooding, Damages

CARNEGIE, Pa.,None — Residents in Carnegie are worried Wednesday's rain could cause more flooding in the area.

The small town suffered damage over the weekend after rainstorms caused cars to become stuck in roadways and flooded basements around the town.

Four cars on Idlewood Street in East Carnegie were unable to make it out of the flooded road.

Carnegie Residents Fear Flooding With Wednesday's Storm

"It's unfortunate that the same area that was ground zero for (Hurricane) Ivan got hit got hit again," said Carnegie Police Chief Jeffrey Harbin.

People who live along Campbell's Run Creek said Tuesday they were still cleaning and clearing out basements and backyards after the creek filled with debris and flooded the area.

"I tried to be proactive after Ivan, but this is above and beyond," said Ed Krasousky.

Krasousky said he build a small wall to protect his property after the damages caused by Hurricane Ivan. Now that another storm has flooded the same area, he's happy he did so.

One door down from his home, Krasousky's neighbor's garage nearly collapsed into the creek.

Residents blame the continued development in neighboring areas.

"They can't keep building in Robinson and draining all this water. They got to fix it now. The sewer line is in pieces," said Krasousky.

Other Carnegie residents like Randy Nixon agree.

"(It's the) development. There is improper drainage and sewage problems," said Nixon. "Now most of these people have mud in their basements and this gentleman is losing his house."

Harbin said a quick fix is something residents will not be getting anytime soon.

"I'm not an expert on matters but it's common sense. Where you had ground before, now you have concrete, so it's development. There's a saying, ‘All roads lead to Carnegie.' In this case, all water leads to Carnegie," said Harbin.

Large excavators were brought in Monday to clear the debris from the creek. Residents said they were relieved to get the help.

"If we got more rain we'd be in big trouble," said one resident.

Harbin said it was his first priority to have the creek cleared.

"We are afraid any more water whatsoever will create an even bigger problem. So our main focus right now is to get that mid channel open to allow the free flow of water through here," he said.

Crews continued working throughout the week to build retaining walls, but the threat of Wednesday's storm has residents on edge.

"There's a lot of work to be done very quickly with retaining walls, if they don't do that, we're going under water with next thunderstorm," said Krasousky.

Chief Harbin told Channel 11 News that the problem isn't over. They need a permanent solution and residents say they need peace of mind.

"It's your health and sanity. Do you want to put up with being flooded and sandbagged? That's no way to live," Krasousky said.

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