Washington County businesses cleaning up after being hit by flash flooding
Communities across Washington County are cleaning up Monday after being damaged by flash flooding.
Several business owners in the southern part of the county say at least three inches of rain fell in just one hour.
While some were able to open up, others were left with too much damage.
"It was heartbreaking," Knot just hair owner Shannon Terensky said.
Floodwaters swept through parts of Washington County Saturday night, turning creeks into rivers, flooding anything in their path, including businesses in this North Franklin Township Plaza.
"We saw the gush of water come from behind the building, and there was nothing we could do," Terensky said.
Shannon Terensky, owner of Knot Just Hair, walked KDKA-TV through her salon as her cleanup continues.
She said the water got as high as the seats on the hydraulic chairs, and she lost most of her product after a shelf fell over into the water.
She says it's difficult to see her business like this because it's her livelihood. She hopes she'll reopen by Tuesday.
"We just have to scrub every corner, everything, and just make it not smell like a creek in there," Terensky said.
Just down the sidewalk, the owner of Scotty's Ice Cream also had a mess to clean up.
A time-lapse video they shared with KDKA-TV shows the parking lot going from wet to flooded in just about an hour.
"It was like a river going around the building here. It was about 18 inches high on this wall. It was just craziness," Scotty's owner Ronald Ranko said.
"I couldn't see the bench of our picnic tables, and our dumpster was all the way down there," Scotty's employee Carissa Coulter said.
Ranko says, thankfully, Scotty's was open at the time because they were able to respond quickly once water started flowing inside.
Employees were able to get products and anything else that could get exposed to water outside.
Scotty's was only closed for one day, and Ranko credits the community for pitching in with the cleanup.
"It's just a good community. Small business people stick together around here," Ranko said.
