Clean-up efforts begin in Pittsburgh area after Friday's flash flooding, "Seemed like a tidal wave"

Neighbors in Turtle Creek are cleaning up after fast-moving flash flooding left a muddy mess on streets in the borough Friday. 

Water levels rose four feet in 15 minutes, according to Turtle Creek Emergency Management Coordinator Lou Lantzy, who explained that in some areas there was 2 feet of water on roads. 

"The mayor said it was so deep it came up over the top of the hood of his truck," Lantzy said. "It almost seemed like a tidal wave came down through."

Neighbors told KDKA-TV they were astonished by how the flooding seemed to come out of nowhere, considering it wasn't raining hard. 

"Now I have this mess in front of my house," said Joseph Napolitano. "All this mud, I have to clean up and get all this crap out of here. What am I going to do with it, where am I going to put it?"

The mud and water arrived late afternoon on Friday. While rescue crews were called, no one needed to be rescued in part because of how quickly the water from Thompson Run receded, Lantzy said. 

"I was sitting here watching TV, [KDKA-TV], and then all of a sudden I heard a noise out here and water flowing down the street," Napolitano said, explaining the noise he heard was a child on the porch next door. 

One neighbor told us he feared for his safety watching the water rise so quickly, describing the flooding as a raging river that could have swept a car away. 

Lantzy said the speed at which the water rose was the fastest he's ever seen in his lifetime living in the borough.

He said it may have played a role in something else he found remarkable - despite all the flooding outside, he hadn't heard yet of any basement that saw any significant flooding or mud. 

For neighbors in the borough, flooding is all too familiar.

"I lived here for 33 years," Napolitano said. "I've been flooded four different times. I had to buy four different furnaces, four different hot water tanks, and washing machines. Sears used to know me by name, but it hasn't happened for quite some time since they dredged the creek. I don't know what happened today; it was amazing."

Lantzy does have an idea. He's been worried for years that without the county cleaning the creek, flooding would take place again. He said for four years he's been trying to get the county to clean the creek. 

"I've been going back and forth with the county Department of Public Works, and they said it is not their responsibility; it's the boroughs, and the borough says no," Lantzy said. 

He explained the borough has a signed agreement with the county that said the county will take care of the stream.

"And that's the problem: nobody wants to put up the funding, no one wants to be responsible for any damages, but something has to be done," said one neighbor.

Lantzy said he's again pushing the county to clean the creek. He said there are a few large pieces of trees up against a bridge on Thompson Run that could lead to more flooding the next time it rains.