Matamoras and Westfall recovering

BY TOM KANE

tomkane@riverrreporter.com

MATAMORAS & WESTFALL, PA - Barry Benson has learned a lot from three floods in 18 months at his campsite in Westfall.

“The time to clean up is while the water is still present,” he said. “All you do is sweep and hose the area down. But once the water recedes and starts to dry, you have to shovel the dirt and guck with a lot of muscle.”

He learned that the hard way.

Westfall was hit so badly that the town moved its command center to the municipal building in Matamoras.

“They’re back in their own place now, but we were glad to help them out when they needed it,” said Matamoras Emergency Coordinator Gary Babb.

“Actually, [Matamoras] did better this time than last,” Babb said. “Except for the homes along 10th and Avenue R. They get hit all the time because they’re so close to Route 84. The river overflows worse at that site. Some homes lost their foundations.”

The Neversink River, which empties in the Delaware, didn’t flood as badly as in April 2005. “The ground was very saturated last time, so the water from the Neversink just ran off, but not this time for some reason,” he said.

Residents in Matamoras were evacuated.

“We had about 40 people in our Hope Church and St. Joseph’s Church shelters,” Babb said.

The borough is moving swiftly to get assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA).

“Scott Gillette, fire coordinator for Pike, got the paperwork going so we can get assistance fast,” Babb said.

The Shohola Elementary School was available for evacuees but no one took advantage of it.

Volunteers from the Red Cross registered about 75 cases. “We’ll be here for at least two weeks,” said Molly Jane, a Red Cross volunteer from Worcester, MA.