Dozens still waiting to return home after apartment building floods

Wednesday, August 5, 2020
SLATINGTON, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- People who live in the 7th Street Village Apartment complex in Slatington, Pennsylvania say it didn't take too long before they realized they were in trouble as the nearby Trout Creek swelled into a raging river.

Christine Blodgett says it was surreal.

"Watching the rain coming down as heavy as it was, the water was coming down the back and rising faster and faster. It was scary, like, I went out and moved my car, and other people moved theirs, telling people to get out," she said.
At the height of the storm, 50 people in Slatington needed to be rescued from flash flooding, 34 of them from 7th Street Village.

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The family of Zania Braewell was among them.

Zania says she and her family members could only watch as the water started entering their home.

"It started in our living room, coming through the back and making its way to the front. So, we opened the door to get the water outside," she said.

Several local first responders saying this was the most dangerous situation they have to contend with since Superstorm Sandy.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

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Still, the lives of several families here have been completely upended.

The people rescued in Slatington were, at first, evacuated to Northern Lehigh Middle School.

They were then taken to nearby hotels where many remained on Thursday evening.

Christine Blodgett says, there is only one way to describe the past 24 hours.

"Stressful," she said. "Being taken out of your homes and everybody's hungry, nobody's eating dinner. You know, it stinks."
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