FEMA visits Pottsville for assessment of flood damage on city’s streets

March 29-- Mar. 29--POTTSVILLE -- Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives toured areas of the city Thursday in their continuing effort to examine damage from the flooding in August.

Tom Whitaker, city superintendent of streets, and City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar met with officials at city hall to discuss the damages. Whitaker also accompanied Al Hernandez, site inspector with the FEMA office in Harrisburg, and another FEMA employee to the hole on Progress Avenue near Giant Food Store and a stone arch in the lot of the Fanelli Warehouse on Peacock Street. A tributary of the Norwegian Creek runs under the Fanelli parking lot through the arch and the Norwegian Creek runs under Progress Avenue.

"We're just trying to do a damage description to get the city back to its pre-disaster condition," Hernandez said.

"The excessive amount of water caused this arch to fail," Whitaker said about the stone arch.

Workers used equipment to try and locate the source of the water. Whitaker estimated a foot of water was running through the parking lot off Peacock Street.

The flooding in the city on Aug. 12 and 13 caused basements to flood and road closures. Anywhere from 5 inches to 3 to 4 feet inundated basements.

The rain also caused numerous road closures in Pottsville: Second Street from Market to Norwegian streets, Fourth Street from Market to Arch streets, Arch Street from Third to Fourth streets, and a section of Peacock Street. Progress Avenue also flooded.

A large hole on Progress Avenue is fenced off for safety reasons after the water from the Norwegian Creek pushed the stone lid off the arch.

This is the second time FEMA officials toured sites in the city that were inundated with water from the August flooding. The first visit was in August when they looked at locations such as 1 Norwegian Plaza that sustained water damage.

President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration Nov. 27 for flooding that inundated parts of the county from Aug. 10 to 15, paving the way for federal grant money. Entities eligible to receive the aid include local governments, authorities, school districts and nonprofits. Applicants can receive up to 75 percent of costs for expenses due to the flooding. Eligible work includes debris removal, emergency protective measures and restoring areas damaged by flooding to their prior condition, according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. Emergency protective measures could include evacuation, demolition and security in the affected areas.

The city's damage estimate from the flooding in August is $1,479,000, Palamar said. The largest expense is related to the damage to Progress Avenue, which has an expected price tag of $1.3 million. He said the city has four projects planned: the hole on Progress Avenue and repairing the road; the opening of the stone arch in the parking lot of Fanelli Warehouse; an area near a small concrete bridge off Fox Street; and an area of the road off Water Street that was damaged.

"They didn't give us any amounts," Palamar said of the money the city will get.

"There will be other visits at other times. This is a very preliminary assessment," Whitaker said.

Palamar said he is impressed with the progress thus far.

"It's been moving very quickly. We've given them everything that they need," Palamar said.

He is hopeful the city might be able to bid the project later this year.

Schuylkill Emergency Management Agency director John Matz was not available for comment Thursday.

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