RIVER RUNS WILD -- AGAIN
By Sean Patrick Murphy, Assistant Editor
04/08/2005

 "Scary."
That one word from a Solebury Township resident summed up what many people felt about the second historic-caliber flood to overwhelm New Hope and other riverside communities from Easton to the north to Yardley to the south in six months.

Robert Ebert, who has friends who live on the river, said the flood makes "you think what the damage can be to people's lives."

"I have never seen anything like this before," Cindy Beck said. "It's shocking."
Beck is an aide to Pennsylvania Representative Bernie O'Neill.

"To see Odette's underwater like that -- it's unbelievable," she said. "It's hard to take it all in."
"I'm just down here to see what we can do to help," Beck said.

Beck, who lives in Warwick Township, was directing people to the Eagle Fire Company on Sugan Road where emergency provisions were made available once downtown residents and businesses were evacuated Saturday.

She noted how people have been volunteering to help: Beck said a veterinarian offered help with animals and some people offered cat and dog crates.

Delaware Canal Chief Ranger Charles Broadwater said park rangers had been at the scene in New Hope since early Sunday afternoon.

He said the rangers were on safety detail for the park and that two rangers were helping the local police department. They were also checking canal locks to make sure they're open.
"This is worse than Ivan," Broadwater said, referring to the hurricane that caused flooding back in September 2004. "It's probably a good four to five feet higher than Ivan was."

He also said the most difficult part of the job is keeping curious people out of harm's way.
"Most of it is the people who don't understand what we're doing here and you try to tell them it's for their safety not ours," Broadwater, who has been a ranger for more than 31 years, said. "Everybody wants to take a look."

"They don't care about their safety. That's the biggest problem with people," he continued. "And it seems like it's been getting worse as the years go on."
"It's devastating," John Whitehead, co-owner of the South Main Street restaurant, 90 Main, said Monday while surveying the devastation around his corner of the borough. However, he noted, the people affected by the flood will make do with what they've got.

"People are resilient," he said. "They'll get by and make do and things will get back to normal soon."
Whitehead said he could not access his property to check on damage as of Monday.
"I feel bad for the people that went through all the rebuilding process from last time, put all that money into it and they have to do it again," he said.
"And a lot of them -- because the way flood insurance is -- people won't get compensated like they should," Whitehead said. "Pennsylvania's a screwed up state with flood insurance. It's mandated by the state. You have to have flood insurance but you can't get extra flood insurance. There's only one flood insurance you can get and certain things aren't covered, so you get screwed."

Sallie Ziff, who has lived at 218 Towpath Street for 28 years, avoided damage from the flood last September but this time wasn't so lucky. She did have some help getting things out of her house in time.
"People in New Hope couldn't be nicer," Ziff said.