HAWLEY – Sweeping up, scraping up and pumping out lots and lots of water. The Borough of Hawley is working to dry out and repair the soaking mess Mother Nature left.
Many businesses bore the brunt of the damage from Sunday’s heavy rain. Peter Porter says the storm destroyed his realty records.
"43 years worth of files. Appraisal files especially are the ones that I`ll miss but also the water`s up into the floor joints so it covered the boiler, and I had a number of computers stored down there," said Porter.
Porter has been pumping out his basement since 8 AM and says the water hasn’t gone down.
"It`s actually the worst that I`ve seen since the 1955 flood,” said Porter.
Hawley Borough Council Members have been out helping clear roads themselves and submitted paperwork to declare an emergency in this part of Wayne County. They’re worried what might happen when more rain comes.
"There isn`t too much we can do about that, the ground is saturated, we`ll just try to protect everyone we can," said Hawley Borough Council President Donald Kyzer.
The water has subsided here at the Settler`s Inn in Hawley but this parking lot was a much different scene less than 24 hours ago.
Video sent to Newswatch 16 shows water rushing by the Settler’s Inn. People in the restaurant were stranded for hours. The owner says damages could total about $10,000 dollars.
"Our property was a couple of feet deep in water. We took a lot of damage on our lower level, but we`re bouncing back we`re pumping out,” said Settler’s Inn Owner Grant Genzlinger.
The restaurant and hotel rooms are open, but crews are now working hard to get this popular destination fully functional.
"Hopefully we`ll all get back up in operation pretty quickly because it`s the summer season, 4th of Julys coming up,” said Genzlinger.
Working to dry out before another storm comes through.
Borough Officials are preparing a report of all the flood damage in Hawley for FEMA. If you live in Hawley and have flood damage from this weekend’s storm you are asked to contact the Borough.