MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — It's been a busy couple of days for Pocono Township road crews. After old man winter dropped more than a foot of snow this weekend in the Pocono Mountains. And it's not letting up anytime soon.
A storm Tuesday evening into Wednesday is calling for potential flooding and wind damage, two concerns the township has been monitoring.
"Prior to the snow storm, we took everybody off our other projects and just started cleaning out drain boxes. you know, using the vac truck to suck out drain boxes, clean out swale, and remove any debris that had piled up from the last flood. through the drainage pipes," said Jerrod Belvin, Pocono Township Emergency Management.
Jerrod Belvin is the Emergency Management Coordinator for Pocono Township.
He says in addition to getting equipment ready and checking the sewer systems for larger businesses, the township is also preparing for potential water rescues, "Swiftwater rescue will be staging at their assets here for the county. We will have a military truck, a jet boat, and two inflatables just to be prepared for swift water rescue."
At Steele's Ace Hardware near Tannersville, homeowners are preparing too.
"I'm getting sump pumps and some stakes to put up some boards to prevent the water from hitting my house. With all the snow, we got 13 inches, and then with the rain and the creek next to my house, when everything melts, I'm going to get a lot of water," said Dan Snyder, Scotrun.
But flooding isn't the only concern so are high winds.
"PPL already sent us a warning to expect power outages tonight. So we're more concentrating on our continuity of operations making sure that our traffic lights are still working. We have generators prepared to be deployed if our backup systems run out of battery," said Belvin.
Township officials say they are prepared to deploy an emergency shelter if need be.
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