Define Floood Palins

Duryea devastated by flood waters

While places like West Pittston , Wilkes-Barre and Pittston got their share of the attention, the tiny Borough of Duryea stood alone on Thursday night, withstanding a catastrophe of its own as the swelling Susquehanna River backed up into the Lackawanna River, causing major flooding in the southern and western parts of town.

Reports of anywhere from 2-8 feet of water crippled the lower three blocks of Main and Chittenden streets late Thursday evening, and early Friday morning. However, flooding began in the west side of Duryea when water came over the levees between River Street and Lackawanna Avenue.

“About 7:30 on Thursday night it all started,” said Mayor Keith Moss. “We have a levee we built ourselves in 2006 to try and keep the water out, and that’s what broke and let the water onto Lackawanna Avenue. It then came around the Holy Rosary cemetery and at the bank of the cemetery the levee broke and it spilled into the cemetery and onto Chittenden Street.

“We had our pumps on the lower end but we had to pull everything out of there because the water was coming at us with a force from behind us. It moved onto Main Street. On top of that the water just started coming out of the catch basins on Main Street and then it eventually did come over the top of the dike at the end of Main Street.”

Once the water came over the top of the dike, it was a matter of minutes before residents were able to get out of the way of the incoming water. Not all residents made it out before over six feet of water ended up settling between the levee off Crittenden Street and the railroad tracks behind the homes on South Main Street.

“We did have to rescue some people with the help of the Germania Hose Scuba Team because there were people who did not want to come out at first,” said Moss. “But then we had to get them out. There were approximately 10 people we had to rescue.

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In towns along the Passaic River, in New Jersey, dump trucks have been driving up and down streets, carting away water-logged rugs and furniture.

“FEMA’s coming, but to get restoration people and all, they’re all busy, and they say they lost your name in the computer,” said Susan Mortaro, a resident of Wayne, N.J. “This is the first day we’re getting somebody to come for cleanup.”

For some residents, the recent rain from Tropical Storm Lee has caused more trouble.

“They say that the rivers are going to crest on Saturday, so we’re waiting. It’s a waiting game at this point,” said Marilyn Succar, whose home in Wayne, N.J., was flooded by a few feet of water, causing damages she estimated to be in the thousands of dollars.

Across New Jersey, some roads have been closed due to the flooding.

In New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation is reexamining what areas in the Marcellus shale are considered in the flood plain.

“The definition of flood plains, as we know them from our maps are antiquated,” said Assembly Energy Committee Chair Kevin Cahill. “We need to re-map our flood plains.”

DEC spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said the DEC commissioner is participating in the Storm and Flood Recovery Task Force established by Governor Andrew Cuomo and that it “will look at how to address these issues including the flood plains.”

The DEC wants to prohibit the controversial gas drilling technique known as fracking in areas susceptible to flooding for fear of water contamination.

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