Landslides Major Problem Around CityPOSTED: 5:23 pm EDT April 23,
2007 PITTSBURGH -- Landslides are becoming a growing problem in Allegheny County, especially in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill and Greenfield neighborhoods.  Watch Bob Mayo's ReportIt took more than a week before the city could find a contractor who was willing to take on the dangerous job of removing a tree that was hanging over homes in the 3800 block of Beechwood Boulevard after a landslide earlier this month.Still, challenges and questions remain for people whose homes are threatened by the landslides.When trees, rocks and debris crashed down behind some Greenfield homes eight days ago, it was the third landslide in the neighborhood in a few weeks.Lei Zhang spent the past eight days in a hotel with help from the Red Cross because city inspectors said her home was in continuing danger until an unstable, hard-to-reach tree could be cut down."It's a reality here, but there's some people who are in jeopardy of losing everything," said Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato. "And where we can help, we try to help, with in-kind services, and we're going to continue to try to help get state funding."Onorato said it's part of a bigger regional problem."There's a huge list that rolls into my office, countywide, this isn't just unique to Greenfield, it's everywhere," said Onorato. "And we have landslides in every direction of this county, north, south, east and west.""We're looking at it," said Sen. Sean Logan. "We're researching the possibility of creating a program at the state level."Logan said local lawmakers are working with the governor and state environmental officials to determine if Pennsylvania can create some form of landslide insurance."To create a program almost similar to the mine subsidence insurance," said Logan. "Mine subsidence insurance is probably the cheapest insurance you can purchase. And it does a wonderful job in the protection of your home." A community meeting about landslides is set for Thursday evening. 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.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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