Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

(Editor’s note: Today, The Daily Herald ends its Top Ten countdown of the most important local news stories of 2004.)

Although they were hit hard by a tropical storm named Ivan, northern Blair residents and business owners affected by the Sept. 17-18 flood rolled up their sleeves after the water levels began to recede to deal with cleanup efforts.
Many residents and business owners spent days cleaning up the devastating damage with a grit and resolve known only to those who have seen floods before.
For the record books, the level at the Little Juniata River at Spruce Creek reached 15.5 feet at its peak, according to Phil Birnie of AccuWeather in State College. The level was seven-and-a-half feet above the flood stage of eight feet.
According to information from the National Weather Service, the top crests at Spruce Creek were 19.1 feet in March of 1936, 16.98 in June of 1972 and 15.77 feet in November of 1950. This year’s event would be the fourth worst flood in terms of water levels on the Little Juniata at Spruce Creek.
Shortly after the flood, Birnie said the rainfall total starting at midnight Friday, Sept. 17 and ending at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18 was six inches in Altoona. He said some areas in Blair County may have received seven inches.
Hundreds of homes and businesses had flooding in basements while a lesser amount had water into the first floor as the flood inundated downtown Tyrone. Waters began to rise to the point were Mayor Patricia Stoner declared a disaster emergency as flooding started occurring or was eminent by 8 p.m. on Sept. 17.
More than 100 people went to a shelter which was set up by the American Red Cross at the Tyrone Area High School. About half of those people were evacuated while the other half decided to leave their homes on their own and seek shelter.
“By 10:30 on Saturday morning they were able to go back to their homes,” said Stoner.
“I did a tour as well as I could, the absolute devastation – it was heart-wrenching – it just broke my heart,” said Stoner.
She described the damage she observed including lost merchandise by downtown business owners. She also toured Park Avenue and the Ninth Street area and observed people cleaning out basements.
“I just thank God, it didn’t get up into their homes,” said Stoner.
The mayor said there was $1 million dollars in damage according to an initial assessment by the borough emergency management coordinator Jim Beckwith.
The Tyrone Youth Baseball Association reported devastating damage at the association’s little league field.
Downtown businesses were especially hard hit and many suffered a double loss when they were not able to open their doors for business in order to deal with the cleanup.
Tyrone Borough reported taking hundreds of calls from residents and businesses about damage from the floods. Eventually, Blair, Huntingdon and Centre counties were among more than 50 Pennsylvania counties which were declared federal disaster areas.
In October, the flooding was addressed at a Tyrone Borough Council meeting.
“The answer to what happened is it rained and it rained and it rained more than we ever had it rain before,” said Rod Bohner, Blair County Department of Emergency Services Director of Operations.
He explained it was clear problems have built up along the streams both before and after the flood.
“The ground never gets a chance to dry up and it just rains and rains,” said Bohner. “Sure the creek’s built up. Stones build up every time there is a heavy rain. You have to have a DEP permit to go into the streams.
“Everybody can get upset; I would be upset also,” said Bohner. “But, if the DEP says you can’t do something in the stream, you are going to get fined.”
Bohner said in his opinion, the borough had been “number one” in getting things done on the night of the flood and during the follow-up work in the weeks following the flooding.
The borough emergency manager Jim Beckwith also addressed the concerns of one of the citizens who offered public comment.
“At no time did the flood control (at Clay Avenue) endanger any residents in the borough,” said Beckwith.
He said he and Highway Department manager Vern Latchford had checked on the area several times on the night of the flood until it was no longer safe to enter it.
“At no time, was that flood control on Clay Avenue to the Juniata Creek on Park Avenue in danger of overflowing,” said Beckwith.
“The sewers did back up…,” said Beckwith. “I don’t know whether you can fathom what five inches of water in two hours can do. You could have had a sewer line 36 inches in diameter and it would have filled up. When it fills up, it takes the least path of resistance, that unfortunately, is going to be our cellars.
“(The five inches of water) had to go somewhere,” said Beckwith. “Water always runs to the creek, and the creek overflew. It had to go somewhere; the sewer lines weren’t big enough. I don’t care what municipality it is, when it starts to rain at that magnitude, you are not going to be able to carry it away. The creeks could not carry it away fast enough.”
Beckwith and other officials also carried on a give and take with some citizens even after the regular public comment period.
During one exchange, Beckwith said, “I felt the sewers and flood control did its job. The good Lord brought it upon us and there was nothing we as a borough or any elected official could do about it. There was too much rain in too short of a period of time.”
Some in the crowd wondered why more assistance with the pumping of basements wasn’t provided by the borough.
“I called the fire company and asked if they had any pumps available and the guy laughed at me and hung up the phone,” said one resident.
Mayor Patricia Stoner said the crews worked pumping basements until 10:30 at night on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Former councilman J.R. Watson noted the safety of human life was the top priority of emergency officials on the night of the flood. He explained it would not have made sense to pump basements while the flood waters were still occurring since any water pumped out would come back into a basement.
Mayor Patricia Stoner asked borough department heads to address the public regarding the issues.
“We did everything we possibly could do,” said the Sewer Department’s Tim Nulton. “When you have that much water coming in, there is nothing you can do.”
The borough’s consulting engineer Ray Myers offered statistical data to explain the enormity of the rain event.
Borough officials indicated they were aware of trouble spots involving rock and debris build-up. The borough met with DEP officials in October with the borough to discuss what could be done.
In November, council approved a bid for the cleanup of accumulated stone and other debris under the Ninth Street Bridge.
The Borough had met with DEP to secure a permit to do the work after a stone bar several feet in height had developed after the high waters which caused flooding in September.
During the DEP’s visit in October, borough and state officials toured the area near the Ninth Street bridge as well as the flood control project in Schell Run near Shippen Street.
In a written report, Code Enforcement officer Tom Lang told council that an overall inspection of the flood control facilities along the Little Juniata River was also completed from the bridge upstream to the area of Hutchinson Run near the Ferner Baseball Field.
After the inspection was completed on Oct. 7, DEP approved an emergency permit to allow the borough to remove stone and silt from under the bridge. Such permits are for 30 days, Mayor Stoner said in October the DEP also granted two 30-day extensions.
The borough received quotes from three different local excavating contractors to do the Ninth Street Bridge area work. Because of the emergency nature of the situation, the borough did not have to follow its normal bid procedures such as advertising, bid opening etc.
The low bid for the project was submitted by Blair Excavating of Tyrone for a price of $13,632.80. Council approved the bid.
Many residents and business owners were afforded the opportunity to apply for assistance through the Federal Emergency Disaster Agency. Earlier this month, a FEMA deadline for applying for assistance passed on Dec. 18 after it had been extended by the federal government for a month.

By Rick