Small businesses across Pittsburgh area still feeling effects of recent severe weather
Last week's severe weather knocked out power for days for some. Many small businesses are still feeling the impact as of Labor Day.
"The hot water tanks just got ripped off the wall," said Gwen Moreland, who owns Morelands at Waterworks.
Photos shared with KDKA-TV show the extensive damage done inside the basement at Morelands at Waterworks after water rose from the creek below and blew off the basement door.
"It was eight feet, and there was nothing anybody could do. The fire department couldn't even begin to help us start pumping until 1:45 in the morning, and it started at 8 p.m.," Moreland said. "The creek is at least 10 feet down from the building; it just blew that door off, and the water came flying in."
Water was just four steps away from the main door. The water line in the room of the hot water tanks is eight feet.
"I am so incredibly proud of my staff. They just went into high gear, and they were trying to save everything they could," Moreland said.
Not far away in downtown Irwin, on Main Street, the owner of Colonial Grille lost about $2,000 worth of food and had some minor water damage to some of his ceiling tiles.
"I was fortunate enough to have a generator, but I could only run so much equipment at any given time, so I had to keep switching what I was running. Run that for five hours, unplug it and put something else in. So, it was a challenge," owner Gary Santimyer said.
Jen Wirsing, owner of "The Green Berry," lost some inventory.
"I didn't sleep for two nights because I kept coming down here in the middle of the night checking on things, so it was a very stressful situation," Wirsing said.
As for Gwen Moreland, she and her husband don't have flood insurance. The damage is between $125,000 and $150,000.
"It's gone. Literally, everything [in the basement] is so rotted. It starts tomorrow night; they will be demoing the rest of it," Moreland said.
Fortunately for Morelands at Waterworks, the water didn't come upstairs, which has allowed them to stay open.
