Pike weathered the high water

By DAVID HULSE

PIKE COUNTY, PA — As up to nine inches of rain fell, few areas of Pike County were not impacted by the weekend flooding, according to county Emergency Management Director Roger Maltby.

On Monday, Maltby was trying to begin a full assessment. Maltby said early predictions from the National Weather Service called for flooding at levels equal or greater than those of the flood of record in 1955. “Fortunately, what we thought was going to be major flood on the Delaware River didn’t develop, but we had a few anxious moments,” he said.

Low-lying portions of Matamoras had some flooding and there were some evacuations. About 24 people were directed to the Shohola Elementary School for shelter, he said.

There was flooding along 10th Street and Avenues R and Q and at the airport park. “It got into the basements of some houses on Rose Lane,” he said.

As a precaution, Orange and Rockland utilities shut off power to the borough and gas service was also shut down in some areas, he said.

Low-lying portions of Route 209 near the high school flooded, making the highway impassable between Milford and Matamoras. Maltby said some motorists ignored road closure barricades and became stranded in the roadways.

Access ramps from Interstate Route 84 were closed during the highway flooding, as was the Mid-Delaware Bridge into Port Jervis.

Port Jervis had flooding in the low-lying “acre” neighborhood and at the 209 underpass, and the bridge closure facilitated their pump-out operations, Maltby said.

He said the flooding apparently destroyed the control box at the traffic light at the Westfall Town Center mall. “It didn’t reset after the power outage,” he said.

Maltby said there had been one report of a person in the river during the high water, but firefighters found nothing and no one has been reported missing. “As far as we know, the call was unfounded and there have been no injuries,” he said.

Maltby also said he was unable to confirm a report of several vehicles said to have been seen in the river. “We had all kinds of rumors, from dam collapses to the Roebling Bridge coming down,” he said.

Maltby said areas that traditionally flood, like the Parkers Glen Road in Shohola and Rose’s Switch area in Westfall had washouts. The Shohola Creek also took out 50 feet of shoulder along Twin Lakes Road in Shohola, forcing closure of the road.

By 10:30 p.m., weather service forecasts confirmed that the worst was over and power was restored in most areas by midnight, he said.

• U.S. Route 209 (National Park Service Road) between PA 739 and Bushkill.

• State Route 1002 (Greeley Lake Road), Lackawaxen Township.

• State Route 1003 (Rowland Road), Lackawaxen Township.

• State Route 1005 (Twin Lakes Road), Shohola Township remains closed because of mudslide in the area near intersection with Bee Hollow Road (State Route 1008).

• State Route 1012 (German Hill Road) Shohola & Lackawaxen Townships.

• State Route 1017 (Delaware Drive) Westfall Township had one lane open.

• State Route 4006 (Towpath Rd) Lackawaxen Township west of Rowland was expected to reopen Tuesday.