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Residents face more flooding issues in Scranton

An area in west Scranton hit hard by flash flooding two weeks ago saw several feet of water again after an equipment failure couldn't pump the water away fast enough

SCRANTON, Pa. — As water covered the road along North Merrifield Avenue in West Scranton, the scene was like deja vu for people who live in this neighborhood. 

A little over two weeks ago, several feet of water ran down West Mountain and consumed homes, cars, and more.

After that flooding city hired a contractor to put new pumps in the flood control project, but something failed overnight, and the pumps stopped working.

Michael Cammarato says he was worried when more rain was forecast but didn't expect this to happen again, "I came back this morning before 8, and it was coming up the driveway again, a big pond. It's been really slow going away."

DPW crews brought in extra equipment to help move the water out.

Leonard Srebro lives at the corner of North Merrifield Avenue and Lafayette Street.

"I got my pumps running, but it keeps making a mess of things, all the mud. It's mud, too," said Leonard Srebro, Scranton.

Cammarato says he's trying to get power and heat back to his house because he's lost so much already.

"We lost the cars, motorcycle, the quad, tractor, everything. This doesn't make you feel any better when it does it again," said Cammarato.

"There's people who have cleaned out their basements and have this stuff outside. Now it's all wet again on the outside," said Srebro.

Many homes on a two-block stretch of North Merrifield Avenue were condemned after the first round of flooding. City officials say they are looking into possible solutions to prevent such flooding from happening again.

"It couldn't be worse. They're just plodding along with a look on their face. It's terrible. It's a terrible experience. You wouldn't want anyone else going through this," said Cammarato.

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