Landslide Prompts Evacuation Of 4 Homes In Garfield
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) - Authorities say a landslide prompted the evacuation of four homes in Pittsburgh's Garfield neighborhood.
The city announced Wednesday that officials at the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections ordered the Garfield hillside homes vacated "and posted as imminently dangerous" after an inspection.
It's happening in the 5400 block of Broad Street. A cement parking pad is splitting apart and sinking lower and lower with each hour.
"If you listen, you can still hear it creaking now," said Darryl Simmons, one of the evacuated residents. "You can hear it falling. Some of the tree branches will snap."
"You hear every pop," said evacuated resident Shirley McKinney. "It sounds like something tearing, and then another pop."
Geotechnical engineers are looking at the site and are to advise the department on possible next steps to make the hillside safe and allow the return of residents.
Brenda Waters' Report:
Neighbors believe it began with the demolition of a nearby home, and all the rain we've been getting started the slide.
Officials said soil and trees also slid into an adjacent parking lot for a senior apartment building, and while portions of the lot were closed, the apartment building wasn't affected.
Families were alarmed when utility crews showed up Wednesday evening to turn off the power, gas and water. Pittsburgh Police were also called to the scene.
As the hillside continues to sink, homeowners like McKinney have a sinking feeling, fearing that their homes, full of memories and belongings, could start to go. And to make it worse, McKinney says her insurance doesn't cover this.
"That hurts," she says. "We pay for insurance for nothing."
The Red Cross is helping those evacuated.
A previous landslide prompted evacuations of homes in the city's Spring Hill neighborhood.
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