Allentown resident Henry Wikoff walks through the hole on the side of his house where his driveway collapsed beneath the water that flooded his property during Hurricane Irene. For more photos, see www.gmnews.com. ERIC SUCAR staff Floodwaters carved a path of destruction through the homes and hearts of Allentown residents during Hurricane Irene.
The borough temporarily condemned five homes on the east side of South Main Street due to water damage and deemed them uninhabitable until cleaned up and repaired, according to Mayor Stuart Fierstein. The properties flooded when the millpond rose to an unprecedented level and crested the temporary bridge during the storm on Aug. 27-28.
The water flooded the backyards of the residences and then started filling up their basements. Most of the uninhabitable homes also had water coming in the side and front of their structures as a result of the water cresting the temporary bridge along Main Street and flowing down the street instead of into the spillway.
Above: Allentown resident Charles Andrew Rudin talks about the severe flooding that damaged his home and many of his cherished belongings, from his front porch on Aug. 31. Right: Rudin started piling unsalvageable possessions along the curb on Aug. 31. The borough has permitted the affected homes to keep dumpsters along South Main Street for the duration of the cleanup. PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff Resident Betsy Poinsett said, “The water came up over the bridge and down this side. There were obstructions, and the water appears to have taken the path of least resistance.”
Poinsett said 5 inches of water accumulated in her basement. The flood ruined her lawn mower and water heater and left her home smelling musty, she said. Poinsett felt fortunate that she and her dog Goose were left unscathed, noting that the water came through her yard like falls, made whitecaps in her driveway and gouged a hole in the new bridge. Monmouth County temporarily closed the new bridge for repairs and reopened it at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 31.
Joe Lalka, the property owner next door to Poinsett, had 6 feet of water in the basement and had to evacuate two tenants. He said the water created a 15-foot hole in the new bridge and was more destructive than it should have been due to obstructions blocking its natural flow. The engineer said the sheet pilings at the temporary bridge are higher than the spillway.
“So, the water built up a foot and a half higher than the dam to begin with,” he said.
He said the concrete barriers on top of the temporary bridge caused the water to rise even higher before pushing the water down the street instead of into the spillway.
“When the water blew out the barriers, the water level in the house went down,” he said. “If that’s just a coincidence, then I’m the pope.”
Above: The Wikoffs had no other option but to dry wet and muddy belongings in their backyards next to the millpond that flooded their homes during Hurricane Irene. Below: An emotional Henry Wikoff, who lives next to his mother, Alice, on South Main Street in Allentown, assesses the flood-damaged items his family removed from their homes on Aug. 31. ERIC SUCAR staff Resident Bill Borkowski had the same concerns prior to the flood and called Monmouth County asking to have the concrete barriers removed. The county was attentive to his opinion and called the contractor who built the temporary bridge. The contractor removed two of the barriers before the storm, Borkowski said.
Borkowski said the culvert at the temporary bridge was part of a two-year waterlevel control system that was cut off when the new bridge opened in August. He said six corrugated pipes were left to relieve any flooding. He questioned whether the contractor made a temporary bridge designed to adequately handle flooding or cost savings and alleged that the company should pay for damages.
Borough Councilwomen Audrey Mount and Jean Hunt consoled the affected property owners on the afternoon ofAug. 31 and expressed their disbelief that some of the village’s oldest homes were damaged in the flood. Mount spoke of her family’s woes as a result of the flood. While a retaining wall in her backyard helped prevent some flooding, more than 3 feet of water got into her garage and damaged her Mercedes.
“We haven’t been able to get it started,” she said.
Mount said none of the properties should have flooded as much as they did and blamed the concrete barriers for obstructing the water from its regular flow. She also pointed out that the temporary bridge is higher than the new bridge.
“Once the lake fills, the water is supposed to go up and down the other side,” she said. “The barriers obstructed the water flow.”
Hunter agreed with Mount and said, “The concrete barriers on the temporary roadway made the water come up higher and faster.” The floodwaters damaged both the temporary and new bridges, caused the collapse of two driveways, knocked over a utility pole and compromised the mill’s attached auxiliary building and outbuildings, according to the councilwomen.
Stephanie Smith, who lives in the millhouse next to the mill site, said, “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I hung out in the front yard as the water crested over the roadway.”
Her video of the flooding showed the water raging with rapids between her property and the mill site where the driveway collapsed. The driveway between the temporarily condemned homes closest to the bridge also collapsed beneath the weight of the water. Alice Wikoff lives in the home next to the bridge, and her son Henry resides next to her. His truck was in the driveway when it collapsed.
The water filled his basement, broke through the back door and rose 36 inches high in the kitchen and living room of his historic home built in 1747. During the flood, he resorted to opening the front door to let the water out and essentially had a river running through his house, he said. His property is lower than his mother’s property. She had water in her basement and 9 inches on the first floor of her home. She was crying as she carried water-damaged items out of her home on Aug. 31.
TheWikoffs are also of the opinion that the temporary bridge and the concrete barriers left on top it obstructed the water’s natural flow, as is their neighbor Charles Andrew Rudin, who experienced a similar storm in 1989 when the old dam was in place. At that time, the part of his yard nearest to the lake flooded.
“This year I had 2 feet of water around the entire house,” Rudin said. “The lake was one solid sheet up to my back door.”
His basement filled with water and he had 2 inches of water on the first floor. While his home was initially among those temporarily condemned, the borough later deemed it structurally sound and inhabita- ble. However, Rudin estimates the cleanup will take a while and doesn’t anticipate moving back in until Christmastime. He, like the rest of the owners of the five most affected homes, estimated the flood damage at thousands of dollars and has hope that the state and federal government will come through with aid to help them cover costs resulting from the storm.
The homeowners all said they are now dedicated to making their establishments structurally sound, hoping to be home or move their tenants back in for the holidays. In the meantime, they are living with family or friends and returning when they can to clean up and slowly go through the process of seeing what they can salvage. Photographs, artwork, books, appliances, papers and other personal belongings damaged in the flood have already started piling up at the curb and in dumpsters along South Main Street. Although the floodwater ravaged these items and their owners’ lives, it could not and did not ruin their spirits.
“No one got hurt,” Henry Wikoff said. “Every ending is a new beginning.”
Lalka added, “We’re going to keep smiling.”