As you know, Hershey, Hummelstown, Derry and South Hanover townships (the areas where the Museum and our Annex are located)suffered severe flooding. The Museum, itself, suffered NO damage but was closed for 2 l/2 days mainly because highway Route 39 which serves it was closed to traffic. The MBT storage facility, George M Sage Memorial Annex, suffered severe flooding - reported to be in excess of Hurricane Agnes (1972). The Swatara Creek which borders our property crested 10 feet above any previously recorded flooding on record and flooded so quickly that some residents had less than an hour to evacuate their homes.
Earlier today (Sunday, 9/11/11), 4 MBT members (T. Mozer, E. Wolf, T. Collins, and D. Lehman) accessed the Annex - following is a recap of the damage:
- The Annex (garage) had 7 feet of water. Water entered the 7 buses which were housed inside….mud and debris in inside each of them.
- Waters flowed through the Annex with such force that our refrigerator, battery chargers, etc., were tossed around the building.
- The vehicles parked outside, in some cases, had water up to the top of the windshields and roof lines (see the aerial picture below).
- The storage trailers were not able to be inspected (they have certain archives in them).
- Although the Swatara Creek has receded, mud is caked on the floor and items.
- Debris is scattered around the property and a segment of telephone poles have damaged our fencing. We also have garage door damage.
Now the good news:
- The bus fleet IS insured - our agent is Condon and Skelly, who we have been with for a number of years and has already been contacted.
- Bus insured values are those determined by the Appraisal done by Michaud Appraisals on the buses at or around the Annex, at the time of the appraisal range in value from $1,000 to $40,000 each--an adjuster is scheduled to visit the property in mid-week.
- Fortunately, there were a number of buses "off the property" (12 are located on the Museum floor, 2 were stored at the Museum, and 3 were away for restoration - and not affected)
Here's where we need your help:
Work sessions are open to EVERYONE--no invitations are needed. We have had a lot of help from non-members and we are so appreciative of anyone who can give us some time. Please be prepared for WET WORK - bring boots, old clothes, buckets, squeegees--we will be cleaning the inside and outside of all the buses with power washers. We will come through this unfortunate episode (with the Creek rising so rapidly and so many buses not readily operational, it would have been impossible to move them - the entire surrounding area was affected).
Thank you for whatever support you can give us - we will survive!
