Pittsburgh officials tearing down homeless encampment after flooding

Pittsburgh officials are decommissioning a homeless encampment after first responders had to rescue a man from floodwaters in the Mon Wharf area.

The homeless man was rescued with a ladder from about a foot of water around 9:30 p.m. Sunday as the rivers rose, public safety spokeswoman Emily Bourne said.

The city’s river rescue crews checked all the other tents at the encampment “out of an abundance of caution” to ensure no one else was in danger, she said.

There was only one person remaining at the tent camp because city outreach workers had warned people for several weeks about the potential dangers at that spot, Assistant Public Safety Director Camila Alarcon-Chelecki said. People living there were offered shelter, storage for their belongings and other services, she said.

Three people were put into shelter spaces, she said, and others chose to relocate independently.

After Sunday’s flooding, city crews cleaned up the camp, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said.

“The encampment on the Mon Wharf will not be allowed to reopen until further notice,” he said.

Because of the flooding, an additional shelter has opened up at Ammon Recreation Center in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood. It can house about 80 people, Alarcon-Chelecki said, and has recently seen about that many people staying there.

“We highly encourage people to use that service,” she said, adding that people can go to Second Avenue Commons to get transportation to the site.

The floods also caused several closures, including around Point State Park. Adam Ameel, the city’s emergency critical infrastructure manager, urged drivers, pedestrians and cyclists not to go around barricades that are closing off impacted areas.

“They’re up for a reason,” he said, explaining that cars can be lifted up by six inches of water.

Ameel said officials anticipate the rivers will recede to normal levels Thursday.