Washed away: 1 year after devastating flood, life in Unity village of Dorothy is quiet, still undone

Aug. 6—One thing seems out of place in Jean Kirkpatrick's living room — the plug-in wax warmer, wafting the scent of cinnamon apple pie.

A message on it scrawled in script — "Hope" — has quite the loaded meaning.

It's been a year since Kirkpatrick was forced out of her Dorothy home by rising floodwaters, and life still isn't back to normal. Her entire first floor is gutted down to the studs and plywood flooring. The first three steps of the staircase to the second floor are bare of carpet.

"I'm happy to be home," she said, after seven months of living in a friend's finished basement with her daughter, son-in-law and their three dogs. "We're here."

Others in the Unity village weren't as lucky. Eleven homes were demolished after the Aug. 5, 2022, flood while more there and elsewhere in the township were renovated.

It's drastically changed the tiny coal patch just off Route 981. Residents say it's much quieter.

"There's not many people left," Kirkpatrick said.

A deluge of rain hit the area that evening, affecting all 42 homes in Dorothy where firefighters rescued some residents by boat. More homes and businesses in parts of Unity and Hempfield were damaged. Lloydsville firefighters and other local agencies accepted donations to help those affected, and volunteers descended on the communities to do anything they could in the immediate aftermath.

There were about 70 Unity properties affected, including a dozen businesses. As time passed, residents were left to contend with what was left of their properties and possessions on their own. Many have spent the past year with their lives in upheaval while they try to get back to the comfort of home they once knew.

For some, life is changed forever, and the threat of rain prompts anxiety.

Terry Libengood can count with her eyes the homes that aren't there anymore. She's lived on Forest Avenue her entire life and grew up next to neighbors who are now memories.

"It's just crazy to me to see so many empty lots," she said.

There's one across the street overgrown with weeds and brush. And another down the road where only the front stoop and mailbox remain. It's hard to identify where the homes once stood if you aren't a native.

Libengood said it was around March when many of them started being torn down. Now-empty lots next door have turned into extra yard space for her family.

"It's just so much quieter, but other than that we just go on living," she said.

Libengood and her husband spent barely a day out of their home and did all of the renovation work themselves.

"It's nice, but 30 years of work was destroyed within 20 minutes," she said.

Widespread damage

Township Supervisor Mike O'Barto said four homes have undergone extensive remodeling in the Marguerite and Dry Ridge area as well.

Paul Good Road, south of Route 30, was repaired and some Sawmill Road residents had property damage. Tons of river rock was washed into yards of a community off White School Road when an adjacent creek swelled.

O'Barto said he is worried that small streams and creeks running along property lines will continue to cause havoc during similar rain events in the future. Sediment settling into those waterways can cause water ponding, streams backing up and erosion of creek beds, he said. Dredging could help.

"My biggest concern right now is that many of the small tributaries and streams that run through Unity Township have collected a lot of sedimentation," he said. "I feel bad for a lot of these residents that actually live beside these creeks and tributaries because their hands are tied, our hands are tied. There isn't any funding to help them. It's not only a problem in Unity Township; it's a problem all around Westmoreland County.

"I just hope to God we don't get another rainstorm."

If they do, firefighters in the area are prepared — buckets filled with a surplus of cleaning supplies donated after the storm are ready to go. Some of the thousands in monetary donations collected by Lloydsville firefighters helped residents and businesses with immediate needs, and the rest — $18,400 — was turned over to Westmoreland Community Action, department president David Vogle said.

Low-interest loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration were available and nine applications for physical disaster loans in Westmoreland County were approved, according to information provided by the agency. That type of loan is for businesses or private, nonprofit organizations, and the money can be used to repair or replace property damaged or destroyed by a disaster, including buildings, equipment and supplies.

Community groups and volunteers came together to help flood victims, often footing the bill for appliances, construction materials or other needs that insurance wouldn't cover. Kirkpatrick said that support was integral in getting her family back on their feet.

"Words can't express the gratitude," she said.

She is able to stay on the unaffected second floor of her duplex but has to go next door to use their water. Her daughter and son-in-law's half is livable, but it's far from being done.

"They did their side first to get us in the house, out of the basement," Kirkpatrick said. "They're working on my side still."

She spends a lot of time over there but every morning has to walk down the staircase to the bottom three bare steps to find the same unfinished first floor where cabinets, a couch and dining room table should be. It's overwhelming, she says.

But she can count on one thing — the scent of cinnamon apple pie to welcome her to the house that will someday be a home again.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .