THE SOUND OF A LANDSLIDE
Jackie Geis, owner of a house at 37 Spring St. in Millvale, on Monday describes the sound of a home being damaged by a landslide. “The house was moaning, literally moaning,” said Ms. Geis, who was born and raised in the home. The house initially was damaged in April, but heavy rain over the weekend made matters worse.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jackie Geis walked along her Millvale street Monday morning to find trees sliding into the back of her childhood home.
Ms. Geis, 53, left her belongings in the house on Spring Street in April when she moved out on the advice of the municipality.
“They told us April 8th, ‘Pack a bag, be ready to go because you have a landslide behind your house,’” she said.
Ms. Geis’ stepfather, Rich Mitesser, who lived next door, also evacuated his house. Both relocated with a relative also on the street.
Now, Ms. Geis’ home and her stepfather’s home are being condemned along with two unoccupied houses above them on the hill, Millvale police Chief Tim Komoroski said. Demolition willbegin Monday afternoon.
On Sunday night, sitting on the steps outside her relatives’ home, Ms. Geis said she heard the houses “moaning.” On Monday morning, she went to check on them.
“I came up and looked and went ––” She made a face. “Time to call.”
Millvale police arrived around 8:30 a.m., according to Chief Komoroski. Officials had been checking on the houses periodically for the last two months, he said.
“This morning, when the road crew came up to check it, they saw the trees significantly moved and actually were into the bathroom of this house. If a person had been in the bathroom, it would’ve been bad,” he said.
At 1:30 p.m., police had blocked off the dead-end street and workers were busy taking down the power lines above the houses. Millvale’s fire chief and assistant borough manager oversaw the operation.
Spring Street is home to fewer than 20 houses. Chief Komoroski said the other homes are not in immediate danger, but officials are unsure about the stability of the street as a whole.
“We put the drone up and from what we’re seeing, it’s limited to this area. Now, once the houses are out of here, who knows,” he said. He added that officials were somewhat concerned about bringing heavy equipment onto the street.
“Once they get the house down, they’ll take the hillside down,” he said.
He estimated the process would take a few days.
The houses are at the bottom of a hill below St. Nicholas Cemetery. The landslide began about halfway up the hill, below the cemetery, on land owned by the Catholic Parish Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, according to Marianne Linn, executive director of the association.
The cemetery was unaffected, she said.
Ms. Geis’ and Mr. Mitesser’s houses are both valued at about $20,000, according to public records. Ms. Geis said homeowners’ insurance will not cover the cost of the damage.
“They’re working with the diocese, as far as the financial end of it,” Chief Komoroski said.
Ms. Linn said she could not comment on the diocese’s financial obligation. But she brought a moving truck and workers Monday to help Ms. Geis and her stepfather move their belongings to a storage facility.