Evacuated Millvale Residents Fear Landslide Will Get Worse

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MILLVALE (KDKA) - People in Millvale are anxiously watching what happens with a hillside behind their homes.

The hill has started to slide and is threatening four houses along Spring Street. Now, residents fear it's only going to get worse.

Two of the homes were occupied. However, those homes have been evacuated.

"You never know. It's the unexpected that's the scary thing," Jackie Geis said.

Geis has lived on Spring Street for decades. Now, she might have to find a new home if the hillside gives way.

"You could sit on the porch and just hear little cracks and then you hear a big bang and it was a big tree," Geis said.

Tree branches are starting to lean on the back of her step-father's house next door.

Both Geis and her step-father were evacuated from their homes on Tuesday. They are now staying with relatives nearby.

"At this time, it's a very active slide and it's very dangerous. That's why we did the precautions we did," Millvale Volunteer Fire Department Chief Karl Cavanaugh said.

Two other homes are also being threatened, but they've been vacant for some time.

Geis said this slide has been a problem for several weeks now. It only got worse with the heavy rain we had Tuesday.

"It has been doing it slowly about three weeks ago and the police and firetrucks and everybody came up and said, 'Do you realize you have a landslide behind your house?' He came out and was like oh and said, 'Well, you might want to pack a bag,'" Geis said.

Geis collected as many personal belongings as she could and her cats.

Officials are still discussing what to do to address the slide moving forward.

"The last we heard is that they were going to build a retaining wall up further," Geis said.