Scranton eyes potential request for federal flood victim buyout as recovery continues

Sep. 13—SCRANTON — Mike Cammerota was born on North Merrifield Avenue, just up the block from where he now lives at what used to be his grandfather's house.

He'd always planned on dying there.

Now he's not so sure.

With the city contemplating a renewed request for a federal buyout of properties after weekend flash flooding sent several feet of water washing through Cammerota's home and others in the neighborhood, the retired city police officer said he has had enough.

"I'm ready," Cammerota, 72, said. "Just give me a fair offer. Make it a soccer field or something down here. It's going to flood again."

Across the Abingtons and hard-hit sections of West Scranton and North Scranton, residents and businesses continued to dry out and clean up Wednesday after torrential rain Saturday evening pushed small streams over their embankments and turned streets into rushing rivers.

Lackawanna County announced the launch of an online link where flood victims can report damage to their properties.

The city of Scranton said it will host recovery events Thursday and Friday to assist individuals and businesses that had losses.

In Scranton, where officials said about 20 storm-damaged homes have been deemed at least temporarily uninhabitable, several of those appeared to be along the 100 and 200 blocks of North Merrifield.

Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said Wednesday the city initially asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2021 for a buyout of a number of flood-prone homes on North Merrifield but was unsuccessful.

The mayor, who raised the possibility of a new request during city council's caucus session Tuesday evening, said while there are no details yet, it is an option her administration is exploring.

"With all of the recovery efforts, we are looking at every possibility for different levels of assistance, but absolutely we want take a look at that again," Cognetti said.

Cammerota, who has lived at 208 N. Merrifield for 35 years, said he has had minor flooding before but nothing like Saturday. Water filled his basement and rose about two feet onto his first floor.

It was more than five feet deep in his garage, where he lost all the contents, including his Toyota 4Runner, a quad he used once a year during hunting season and what he described as a "pristine" 1997 Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

His wife's ruined Cadillac still sat in the driveway.

Cammerota, who retired from the Scranton Police Department in 2002 after 28 years, said he believed the city's 2021 buyout request to FEMA covered only a few homes in the 100 block of North Merrifield.

If another request is made, it needs to be expanded to include all of the 100 block and his and some other damaged homes in the 200 block, he said.

"This is enough to make you totally disgusted," Cammerota said. "I want a buyout. I need a buyout. I can't go through it again. I can't do it."

Joanne Valenches, who has lived up the street at 222 N. Merrifield for 63 years, said she experienced some basement flooding for the first time ever, but the water did not reach her first floor.

She said it was the worst flooding she had ever seen in the neighborhood.

"We can only pray that it doesn't happen again," she said.

Valenches said she would support a buyout, especially for her neighbors who experience frequent flooding.

"I think that's a good plan," she said.

The county said the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, or PEMA, has launched a public damage assessment link where area residents and businesses can report flood damage.

After going to the link — damage-assessment-3-pema.hub.arcgis.com — flood victims should click on the Report Damage box and choose "09/09/2023 Northeast PA Flooding Public Report" from the incident title drop-down menu.

Officials stressed the reporting link, which will be active through Sept. 24, is neither an application for nor a guarantee of assistance but will alert state and local officials where to go for damage assessment.

The county said it is important for flood victims to fill out the assessment to help officials the gauge the damage and then plan the recovery effort.

County staff will be available at the Multi Agency Resource Center, which will be open Sept. 21-23 at a location to be announced, to assist residents and business owners in filling out the assessment if they are experiencing difficulties in navigating the form.

The city announced it will hold two storm recovery outreach events to assist flood victims in reporting damages and connecting to recovery resources:

—Thursday, 1 to 5 p.m., Novembrino Splash Pad, 201 S. 10th Ave.

—Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Holy Rosary Center, 316 W. Market St.

Resources for impacted residents will include clean-up supplies and tools from NeighborWorks and Lackawanna Heritage Valley, Wi-Fi and laptops to report damages via the PEMA link and food vouchers and meals from local restaurants, city officials said.

Emergency housing information will be available from United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Scranton Housing Authority will provide temporary housing information and resources.

Any Scranton resident needing transportation assistance to attend one of the events should contact Morgan Fetsock at 570-504-4943.

Staff writer Alex Nunez contributed to this story.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132