Flooding throughout county brings mayhem to residents
Nearly 3 feet of water surrounded Ed Harlan’s home, which sits on a hill right next to the Connoquenessing Creek near Evans City, on Wednesday afternoon.
Not one to let the flooding deter him from picking up a few essential items, Harlon decided to face the storm as he braved the elements.
However, instead of taking his pickup truck into town, Harlon relied on an alternative mode of transportation.
“It was about 1:30 (in the afternoon) and I was running out of chocolate and I saw that the iced-tea was all gone,” Harlon said. “So I jumped into my kayak, which I keep tied to a tree by my steps.”
He paddled to his vehicle, which he had parked safely away from the flooding, and then drove into Evans City.
Harlon was one of many Butler residents affected by Wednesday’s heavy rain causing the county to be under a flood warning for most of the day. Evans City, as well as Harmony, Penn and Summit townships saw stranded vehicles, road closings and flooded buildings as the county faced an average of over 3 inches of rainfall, according to the National weather Service.
First responders went to 29 calls related to flooding between noon Tuesday and 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, including two water rescues on Evergreen Mill Road in Harmony.
“People were disobeying the signs that say the road was closed,” said Scott Garing, chief of the Harmony Fire District. “They decided to drive through it and their vehicles stalled out.”
Garing said no one was injured, but one driver was stranded in their vehicle.
“We had to call the Butler County Water Rescue Team,” Garing said. “They bring people in the appropriate PPE with the right equipment and go in-person and bring them out.”
Along with a strong current, flash floods can carry harmful contaminants, Garing said.
The rescue team was also called to pull occupants out of a stranded vehicle on a flooded section of Oneida Valley Road in Summit township.
No one was injured, although the driver was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for observation.
Robert McLafferty, the 911 coordinator with Butler County Emergency Services, praised the efforts of the water rescue team for responding to several calls in Butler and Lawrence counties.
“The county has one of the top rescue teams in the world, really,” McLafferty said. “They’re an internationally recognized team. We trust them to go out and handle these type of events, and today, they’ve been busy.”
The team also rescued a driver on Renfrew Road in Penn Township at 2 a.m. Wednesday after her car encountered flood water from Connoquenessing Creek and stalled.
No injuries were reported.
McLafferty emphasized the importance of not driving around barriers used to stop traffic from entering flooded roads.
“Never drive around barricades and never drive through water,” he said. “It only takes a minimal amount to lift the vehicle and take the vehicle out of control and take it downstream.”
Stranded vehicles were not the only cause of concern for residents on Wednesday, as road closures caused several business, such as Wunderbar Coffee and Crepes in Harmony, to close down.
Seth Murphy, owner of the coffee and pastry shop in Harmony for the past 10 years, was stacking 25-pound sandbags against the front door of his business to save it from the waters coming from Mercer Street.
“I closed last night. I kind of saw this coming,” he said.
The business is situated in front of Connoquenessing Creek, but Murphy said most of the water was threatening to encroach on the front of his business.
Harmony resident Jeff Cappatt said when he left for work in the morning, he could see the water covering Mercer Street.
“The creek that runs there, the whole thing was flooded,” Cappatt said. “So those businesses on the end of Mercer Street, the water came right up to the stoop of the businesses.”
Though the street was marked with “Road Closed” signs Wednesday, Murphy and Cappatt said people continued driving on the waterlogged road.
Murphy said he called 911 and police started enforcing the closure.
Water had not gotten into the building Wednesday morning, but Murphy said he was prepared. His employees and customers were affected by his closing for safety reasons.
“We’re in the restaurant business, nickel and dime business,” he said. “There’s thin margins.”
This is not the first time Wunderbar has been affected by flooding, according to Murphy. About five years ago, he said they were victims of a flood and were even less prepared, having to travel to Zelienople to procure sandbags.
And while nature’s fury reigned on Wednesday, some, such as Curtis Graf, of Harmony, found the opportunity to help out his neighbors.
Graf, who owns Graf Customer Construction, offered his support by offering to lend out his company’s electric and gas-powered water pumps for free.
“I’ve got friends and neighbors and everyone else that I thought could use them,” Graf said. “Our guys are not that busy this week, we’re just working in the shop so I figured I’d grab all the pumps out of the trucks and load them up in my pickup and bring them into town.”
Graf said that he has been able to lend out six of his eight pumps before noon and expects more people would want to use the pump as the day goes on.
The local business owner said he was able to deliver some of the pumps for residents in need.
“You can pick them up and I’ve dropped a few off today,” he said.
As for why Graf decided to lend his equipment out, Graff said it’s part of being a good neighbor.
“People help us out all the time,” Graf said. “We’re just trying to help other people. It’s no big deal.”
A flood warning was in effect for Butler County until Wednesday, April 3, at 10:45 p.m.
