Gov. Wolf tours Bucks County homes hit by historic flooding
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Several days after flash floods stunned and overwhelmed Bucks County, Pennsylvania, homeowners are still nowhere near back to normal.
Torrential rain slammed the area on Monday afternoon, inundating the area in what was called a '100-year-flood.'
"I'm just trying," said Lisa Minch of Bristol Township. "This was really bad though. It's bad."
On Friday, Governor Tom Wolf visited residents who described five to six feet of raw sewage and water pouring into their basements during the flash floods.
"The things that were in my house and my basement were the things I really cherished," said Trudy Clark of Bristol. "So they're gone, they're all gone, every little bit. I can't even tell you. It's just an unbearable thing."
Frustrations boiled over with residents at the Lafayette Condominiums in Bensalem as they told Governor Wolf they feel helpless.
Wolf said he understands why people are upset and said flooding is happening more frequently across Pennsylvania.
"We do need to do something, so to my fellow legislators who are here, let's figure out how to do something and stop just saying, 'I'm sorry for your loss,'" said Wolf.
RELATED: '100-year flood' hit part of the Philly region | Explainer
Residents are begging for financial assistance but officials with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said the county has to gather damage assessment information to figure out if they meet the federal threshold for an individual assistance disaster declaration.
"We have to prove that this is beyond the capabilities of the local community and the state to be able to respond," said Jeff Thomas, Executive Deputy Director of PEMA. "That is what FEMA tells us."
Thomas explained Governor Wolf filed for a disaster declaration after Tropical Storm Isaias and that was rejected by FEMA.
Per a FEMA spokesperson:
When evaluating a Governor's request for Individual Assistance, FEMA considers several factors. These factors include (1) the state's fiscal capacity and resource availability, (2) the amount of uninsured home and personal property losses, (3) the demographics of the disaster impacted population, (4) the impact to community infrastructure, (5) the number of people who are missing, injured, or deceased due to the disaster, and (6) the number of disaster survivors who lost work or became unemployed due to the disaster and who do not qualify for standard unemployment insurance.
