Repeated flooding forces family to abandon home's first floor: "We lost everything"

A family in Wall Borough, Allegheny County, said repeated flooding has forced them to abandon their home's first floor.

The family said they have lived in the home on Valley Avenu for 60 years without a flood — until last year. Now, they have moved everything upstairs after the flooding turned the home into a thick mud pit. 

"We're a little disgusted because we keep getting flooded," homeowner Anna Drakulic said. "This started last year, at the end of last year, and nothing was done."

The family said they had to throw out piles of household items ruined in the flooding. Flooding has hit the home four times since last year. 

"We lost everything on the first floor," Drakulic said. "We lost all of our appliances. And now we had to move up."

The family turned what used to be just upstairs bedrooms into an entire living area. Now they are asking Wall Borough leaders to try to find money to fix the flooding they believe stems from a nearby creek and a large pipe. 

"They just said they didn't have any money," Drakulic said.

KDKA-TV asked the borough two questions: What is causing the flooding and what is the borough doing to fix it? KDKA-TV called and emailed the mayor and borough officials throughout the week, but did not get a response by Tuesday. 

However, state Rep. Brandon Markosek's office said Wall Borough recently received $200,000 for stormwater repairs and is set to receive another $300,000 through a state water and sewer program. 

KDKA-TV asked the borough whether either grant could be used to address the flooding on Valley Avenue. KDKA-TV also asked what projects the money is already committed to. After repeated calls and emails, we did not hear back by Tuesday. 

And it's not just this family. Other families on Valley Avenue also said they're dealing with flooded basements. KDKA-TV asked the borough whether the state grant funding could be used to fix this flooding, but did not hear back by Tuesday.