Crime & Safety

Heavy Rains Led to Water Damage of Homes, at least One Driveway

Firefighters worked for 10 hours responding to flood damage

Last night the heavy rains took a toll on the town, causing water damage to many homes, destroying at least one driveway, and causing the closure of approximately 10 roads.

It was a sleepless night for Monroe, Stevenson, and Stepney volunteer firefighters.

The fire companies responded to approximately 15 calls between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., with some homes having up to eight inches of water in the basement. We continue to respond to additional calls this morning.

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Roads such as West Maiden Lane, Flint Ridge Road, portions of Main Street, East Village Road, part of Pepper Street, and several others were completely closed to traffic due to heavy flooding and debris that washed in the roadway.

The Town Highway Department was also called out to assist in opening catch basin and diverting water.

Find out what's happening in Monroewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The worst scene that we saw was Flint Ridge Road and West Maiden Lane. Water was rushing down both sides of West Maiden Lane at a very rapid pace, bringing mud, rocks, and sticks along with it. Firefighters assisted in diverting some of the water away from homes that were being flooded at the bottom of the hill.

Upon further investigation, firefighters discovered a terrible scene on Flint Ridge Road. The rapid flow of water cut a path right through the driveway at 109 Flint Ridge Road, sending large chuncks of asphalt and many large rocks and gravel throughout most of the stretch of Flint Ridge Road, between Red Coat Lane and West Maiden Lane forcing closure of the road.

"I have seen gravel driveways fall apart from heavy rain, but have never seen an asphalt driveway completely fall apart and cave in," Kevin Catalano, a Monroe firefighter, said. "There was a Jeep Cherokee in a precarious position because most of the driveway had completely given way underneath it. The owners were asleep and unaware of the damage until firefighters notified them."

Firefighters also checked several neighboring homes on Flint Ridge due to the heavy water that was rushing into and near their homes. In some cases, firefighters awoke the residents who then determined their homes indeed had been taking in water.


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