Millvale residents worked Thursday morning to clean up damage caused by storms that began the night before and prepare for another anticipated round of heavy rain.
"It's just another day here. You got your rubber boots on cleaning debris," North Avenue resident Scott Baker said.
North Avenue suffered some of the worst flooding in hard-hit Millvale, a borough of nearly 4,000 people that sits along the Allegheny River and often floods after storms.
Girtys Run is raging as it passes beneath North Avenue in Millvale. pic.twitter.com/Vn8Ko9egxN
— Tom Davidson (@kingofgonzo) July 5, 2018
Several residents said Thursday morning's flooding was the worst they could remember since 2004, when the remnants of Hurricane Ivan dumped nearly 6 inches of rain on Sept. 17, just more than a week after Hurricane Francis remnants brought nearly 4 inches.
The National Weather Service in Moon said Millvale was in a corridor of northern Allegheny County communities that received 3 to 4 inches of rain between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. Thursday. The area also was hard hit by rain Monday and last week, according to meteorologist Evan Bookbinder.
Throughout Millvale, hoses snaked from basements into the street as people pumped out storm water. Residents sprayed off their sidewalks and shoveled a silty layer of mud that coated many of the sidewalks. Some people placed sandbags in strategic locations in an attempt to minimize damage from rain in the forecast.
Water is pumped out of a basement Thursday morning from Frederick Street at North Avenue in Millvale. pic.twitter.com/yZIPa7fL6D
— Tom Davidson (@kingofgonzo) July 5, 2018
No injuries were reported as a result of the latest flooding. Firefighters went door to door to make sure residents were OK in some of the hard-hit areas.
Etna firefighters go door to door Thursday morning on Evergreen Avenue in Millvale, checking to make sure residents are ok. pic.twitter.com/pDgqx1CzMo
— Tom Davidson (@kingofgonzo) July 5, 2018
The storm-related flooding wasn't a surprise for North Avenue's Baker.
"When you sign your mortgage, they hand you boots," he said.
Baker said he and a neighbor built a retaining wall in their backyards in 2007 to reduce the impact of the storm-related flooding.
"This is going to be moving some debris out of the backyard and cleaning off the sidewalk," Baker said of his cleanup duties.
"It's just another rain storm in Millvale," North Avenue resident Scott Baker said Thursday. pic.twitter.com/TY0brYoRqO
— Tom Davidson (@kingofgonzo) July 5, 2018
Others weren't as lucky or as prepared for the deluge of rain.
Michelle Bauer gives a tour of her backyard and basement flood damage of her home on Thursday morning in Millvale. pic.twitter.com/su0AyOK8nM
— Tom Davidson (@kingofgonzo) July 5, 2018
"My whole basement filled with mud," Michelle Bauer said. "This was like, where do you even start (to clean up)?"
She lives on the opposite side of North Avenue as Baker — closer to Evergreen Avenue.
Evergreen Avenue's Herman Olander left a vacation in Ocean City, Md., to avoid storms there and returned home in time for the ones here.
"A lot of rain, real fast, and another flood," Olander said, describing Thursday morning.
Herman Olander of Evergreen Avenue talks about the Thursday morning storm that flooded parts of Millvale. pic.twitter.com/rmH5d27RAe
— Tom Davidson (@kingofgonzo) July 5, 2018
Millvale officials said they were providing cleanup kits at the borough building at 501 Lincoln Ave. Water and snacks were being provided at the Millvale Community Center at 416 Lincoln Ave., which was also serving as a cooling center.
Tom Davidson is a Tribune-Review staff writer.
