Landslide Pummels Neighborhood, AgainResidents Worry About Homes, FamiliesPOSTED: 7:01 pm EDT April 15,
2007 PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- A landslide pummeled the Greenfield neighborhood Sunday, sending mud, debris, and even a tree crashing down a hill.  Watch the ReportJust one week after crews cleaned up a massive landslide, they were back along the 3800 block of Beechwood Boulevard to clean up another.Neighbors said they expect another landslide, and can see that the hill is giving way."There's going to be more there. They're just going to keep falling. They're not going to just stop. There's one perched that's set to come down through our house like an axe," said Daniel Kemp, a resident near the landslide.The landslide broke free at around 6 a.m. Saturday and damaged several homes' roofs. Residents said they're worried the next landslide would be more damaging."If the hill itself, these rocks -- which are like 20 tons. It's going to be like an eggshell. They're going to come blasting through, and that's my concern," said Eric Holtz.Many residents who live below the falling hill are moving out, at least until the problem is solved."Hopefully, somebody can figure out who is really responsible for this and fix it before somebody really gets hurt," said Holtz.Officials said some residents from nearby Ivondale Street face similar problems.The city has $3 million in hand for nearly $4 million in landslide work at six locations. It needs at least $5 million more to deal with landslide problems at an additional seven locations."You can't tell residents there to call 911 when the tree falls down on their roof, because that's what they're being told, and we can't sit here and say we can't," said City Council President Doug Shields. "Because if we say we can't, then we won't."Shields said he wants the city to consider dipping into its cash reserves to set up a fund to deal with the problem."There is a serious landslide situation in every neighborhood in the city," said acting city solicitor George Specter. "There are many of them. There's no question that somewhere down the line, this may become the most expensive item in the capital budget."Meanwhile, Shields said he's going to try to put new pressure on Pennsylvania's Emergency Management Agency to make some sort of grant available for Pittsburghers suffering from landslide problems. Related Links: More County NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts Copyright 2007 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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