Richard McClarty stands in his gutted Baton Rouge home, drenched in sweat, speckled with white dust from sweeping drywall remnants off the floor.
"We're just taking it day by day right now," he says in the home he abandoned with his wife Wagner and son Eddie.
They left August 13 as the flood water invaded their garage and lapped at their front door. "I carried my son through the water," McClarty recalls.
He estimates the flood water was about 3 ½ feet deep at the time, and that neighbors had to be rescued by boat amid the chaos.
Thousands were displaced in the storms, and at least 13 died. A federal disaster was declared for 20 Louisiana parishes, which President Barack Obama visited this week and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited the week before.
The McClarty family found a hotel to stay in, then hopped from one to another over the past dozen days, all the while beginning the clean-up process.
"We pretty much lost probably about 75 percent of our things," he explained matter-of-factly as he looked around his home.
The McClartys' story is multiplied by thousands. Homeowners must take everything out of their homes, tear out dry wall and insulation, rip up carpeting, wood flooring, tile, cabinets — everything must go. The work needs to be quick so that mold doesn't take over the house.
Piles of people's lives line streets for miles and miles. About 120 homes are in the McClarty's subdivision. Richard says nearly every home took on some amount of water. A sofa with the tags still on was in a pile next door to the McClartys' home. Brand new, now trash.
Wagner said the mold was already thick in the bottom cabinets, but when you stand in the gutted home, you don't smell the water, mold or dampness. There's a constant hum of fans, dehumidifiers and the air conditioning. If you didn't know the house was flooded, you might think they were doing some strange renovation.
"It's pretty dried out," McClarty said. It's going to take months to get the home to a liveable state, and that's his goal right now.
The McClartys' home isn't in a flood zone, so they didn't have flood insurance. They will have to rely on federal money for any amount of help in the rebuilding process. Such is the case for thousands of the homes that were underwater.
"This has never happened here," McClarty said, adding that neighbors have lived in the neighborhood for 52 years and they have never been flooded.
The family has been getting help from co-workers from the NRG Energy plant where Richard works, members of the family's church congregation and volunteers from Team Rubicon, an organization made up of veterans and first responders who help following disasters with clean-up.
"We appreciate all the help we have gotten, but we still have a whole lot of work to do," McClarty said.
Police investigating gunfire found a Montgomery County homeless man shot and killed near a busy thoroughfare in Chester County.
Coatesville officers found the yet-to-be identified man suffering multiple gunshot wounds behind a home along Diamond Street near N 7th Avenue in Coatesville, Pennsylvania shortly after 6 a.m. Friday, said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan.
The homicide took place one block from Lincoln Highway (Business US Route 30) and near the Salvation Army.
The victim was shot multiple times, said investigators. He hailed from Pottstown and would occasionally reside in shelters in Coatesville, said Hogan.
No word yet on suspects or a motive in the case.
Philadelphia's main transit agency will offer an express bus service at select Regional Rail stops beginning after Labor Day.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority plans to launch the added service Sept. 6 to lessen expected congestion caused by an influx of riders returning from summer vacations and heading back to school.
SEPTA officials say the additional service should also help to ease issues created by the loss of more than a 100 rail cars due to a structural defect in its Silverliner V fleet.
The buses will run during morning and afternoon commutes. SEPTA will post specific departure times at Regional Rail stations and online.
A 3-year-old girl from Luzerne County who Pennsylvania State Police issued an Amber Alert for Friday was found in New York City and is safely in the custody of authorities.
Wearing only a diaper, brown-haired Ava Byrne, 3, was taken from from a property on Vine Street in Nescopeck Borough -- about 10 miles from Wilkes Barre -- around 12:30 a.m., police said.
She was allegedly taken by Robert Byrne, 24, who stands around 5-foot, 9-inches tall and weighs around 215 pounds, state police said.
Byrne was found about 2 p.m. in New York City, police said.
Crumbling, leaning, unsealed buildings throughout Philadelphia are owned by a public agency charged with providing safe and affordable housing.
An NBC10 investigation reveals the Philadelphia Public Housing Authority owns more unsafe and imminently dangerous property than any other landlord. A review of Philadelphia building inspection records shows the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) owns 99 ‘unsafe’ buildings and six ‘imminently dangerous structures.
“Imminently dangerous is the top of the list,” Philadelphia City Controller Alan Butkovitz said. “It’s something they don’t even know what’s holding up the building anymore. A strong wind could blow it down.”
Last year, Butkovitz pushed the city to better document the dangerous and unsafe property so the owners could be held accountable.
The building records reviewed by the NBC 10 Investigators show a history of violations by PHA properties.
In 2012, 2446 West Oxford Street was cited for being ‘vacant and unsealed.’
1621 North 6th street was cited for “fire damage in 2011.
Last year, 644 North 38th Street was cited for its “deteriorated roof.”
As of July 2016, all three properties remained in the same condition.
“They are the responsibility of the owner,” Licenses and Inspections communications director Karen Guss said. “In this case the owner is PHA.”
Letters from L&I show the city agency repeatedly has asked the public housing authority to secure or demolish it’s properties.
In March one letter warned 2408 West Oxford street was in “imminent danger of collapse.” The letter says, “you must repair of demolish” it.
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In June city building inspectors wrote 649 North 44th street was “imminently dangerous.”
When asked about plans for PHA’s unsafe and imminently dangerous property PHA president Kelvin Jeremiah downplayed the scope of the problem. He noted PHA owns just 105 of the nearly 5000 unsafe and imminently dangerous properties in the city.
“It is a big deal and if you’ve taken the time to look at what I’ve done in the two years since I’ve been here, this would have been a great story five years ago when we weren’t doing anything,” Jeremiah said.
The Philadelphia Housing Authority does have a documented strategy to unload or fix its unsafe and dangerous property. PHA claims the plan has stabilized 21 of its 99 unsafe buildings since Jeremiah took over.
“We’ve rehabbed hundreds of properties over the last year,” he said. “We’ve renovated over a thousand properties. To do all of that work requires resources that are ever shrinking.”
Jeremiah said since he’s been in charge, PHA has auctioned more than 800 properties.
Since the NBC 10 Investigators began asking about plans for PHA’s unsafe and dangerous property L&I has made plans to demolish the most dangerous. L&I has schedule the demolitions before the end of August. It costs an average of $17,000 to demolish an imminently dangerous property according to L&I. The city agency said it will send the bill to PHA.
“All of those particular properties are moving toward being demolished in the relatively near future,” L&I communications director Karen Guss said.
A pair of pick pockets racked up $1,600 in charges on a credit card stolen from the purse of a busy mom as she sat inside a Bucks County Chick-fil-A with her children, police said.
The man and woman duo stole the mother's wallet just before 3 p.m. Wednesday at the fast food restaurant located along Horizon Boulevard in Bensalem Township, according to police.
Police said the woman acted as a lookout while the man positioned his chair in a way where he could reach into the mother's purse, which was hanging off the back of her chair.
After grabbing the wallet, both left the store and walked across the street to Target. They spent $1,600 on the victim's credit card buying snacks and four $400 Visa gift cards, police said.
The pair tried to make three purchases at a Target in Philadelphia later in the day, but the credit card had been shut down by then.
Surveillance video captured the theft and purchases. The pair were spotted driving a silver sedan. The make and model were not known.
Bensalem Police are asking anyone who may recognize the suspects to call 215.633.3719.
Two of Montgomery County's seven affordable housing complexes are in the midst of complete makeovers, with construction at Crest Manor in Willow Grove already underway and work at North Hills in Glenside slated to begin next year.
For roughly $17 million each, the 50-unit North Hills and the 40-unit Crest Manor -- built in the 1950s and 1960s, respectively -- are getting complete upgrades.
At Crest Manor, where construction began in June, the frames of the existing twin-style houses are all that will remain. The interior and exterior of each house is being torn down and rebuilt. Completion is expected by the end of 2017. At North Hills, the attached low-rise housing units will be torn down and rebuilt in phases. Construction there is expected to begin sometime next year.
Both housing complexes are in dire need of makeovers, Montgomery County Housing Authority executive director Joel Johnson said in an interview Friday.
"Both sites were very obsolete on many levels," Johnson said. "That's what led us to this larger campaign."
The expensive overhauls are the largest projects for the housing agency since the redevelopment of the MCHA's other "general occupancy" development, Bright Hope in Pottstown, in the 1990s.
The amount of county taxpayer dollars going to the projects is about $1 million of the $34 million. One of the region's largest affordable housing developers, Pennrose Properties, was chosen through a public bidding process to handle both projects, Johnson said.
Pennrose is taking on the bulk of the cost through bonds and federal tax credits.
In return, Pennrose will lease the land from the MCHA and own and operate the housing sites through a public-private partnership with the housing agency, Johnson said.
"That is a departure from what's happened previously," he said. "The housing authority (has previously) owned the land, housing, and operations.
But, he added, "it's the typical format for this type of effort. It's been done many times across Pennsylvania and hundreds of times across the country."
Philadelphia-based Pennrose has developed more than 15,000 affordable housing units in its 45-year history. The company's top two executives, Richard Barnhart and Mark Dambly, are politically active through a political action committee called Race Street PAC.
The PAC gives to politicians and local political organizations from both major parties throughout the Philadelphia region. And Montgomery County commissioners have long been recipients of the PAC's donations.
Since 2010, five current and former commissioners have received campaign donations, with current Commissioner and Attorney General candidate Josh Shapiro the biggest beneficiary.
He has received four separate donations, totaling $3,250, to his own political action committee, Friends of Josh Shapiro. More substantially, Shapiro and fellow Democratic Commissioner Val Arkoosh received a $5,000 donation last year to their joint re-election committee. Additionally, Shapiro and former Commissioner Leslie Richards were given $1,000 for their joint re-election committee.
Former Commissioners Joe Hoeffel ($2,500), Jim Matthews ($1,000), and Richards ($1,500) have received individual contributions as well.
Despite its name, the housing authority is not a county agency. Almost all of its $35 million annual budget comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with some revenue coming from tenants' rent.
But its five-member board of trustees are appointed by the county commissioners.
In addition to the authority's three general occupancy sites, there are also four senior and disabled high-rise developments. In total, the MCHA oversees 615 units.
It also runs an affordable housing voucher program. This year, Johnson said the MCHA issued 2,400 vouchers to low-income households, which are spread out across nearly every borough and township in the county.
The voucher program makes up $24 million of the $35 million budget, said Johnson, who took over as executive director in 2007 after working as deputy director at the county Redevelopment Authority.
But the roughly 3,000 vouchers and authority-owned units fill only a fraction of the overall need for affordable housing in Montgomery County.
In 2015, the MCHA announced it would accept new applications for the voucher program waiting list for the first time in almost a decade. During the eight-day submission period last November, more than 15,000 applicants registered, Johnson said.
Of that overwhelming amount, 1,000 were chosen for the new waiting list through a lottery.
There are 3,000 applicants currently on the waiting list for the 615 county-owned units.
"There is a tremendous need and I would suggest that the 15,000 and the 3,000 is only a small piece of the need," Johnson said. "I'm not an economist and so not in the best position to respond to the macro issue of this, but I would say that Montgomery County is by no means unique in terms of the need. The households we serve have a $14,000-15,000 average income. Couple that would average rent in Montgomery County, and it doesn't match up."
An 8-year-old Camden girl, shot in the head after being caught in crossfire, passed away Friday when her family chose to remove her from life support, officials tell NBC10.
Gabby Hill-Carter was in extremely critical condition since Wednesday night police say she was caught in the middle of a gang shooting at S. 8th and Spruce streets.
She suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to Cooper University Trauma Center for treatment.
But Friday afternoon, Hill-Carter's family said their goodbyes to the girl. They sat by her side as she drew her last breath.
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Camden County Police, state prosecutors and federal agents have been searching for four men believed to be involved in the shooting.
A reward was doubled to $12,000 Friday as the police continued to search for clues and information.
Anyone with information on the shooting should call the tip line at 856-757-7042.
A 28-year-old man has been charged with killing his mother and father inside the family's West Deptford, New Jersey home, police said.
Ryan Coles faces homicide charges in the deaths of 58-year-old Edward and 55-year-old Rosemarie.
A family member found the couple's bodies after stopping by their Pennfield Drive home Friday. Police said they went to the house after being unable to get hold of them over the phone Thursday night.
Police said Ryan Coles was in the house when they arrived. He was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation and later charged in the deaths. He is being held on $1 million bond at the Gloucester County Prison. It's not clear if he has retained an attorney.
An autopsy is expected to be performed Saturday to determine the couple's exact cause of death. Police have not specuated on the manner.
Edward and Rosemarie Coles formerly owned a well-known music store -- Coles Music Service -- in the community.
"It's been a shock. It's been a rough day," said Lauralee Houghton, Ed's cousin. She bought the business from him in 2012, but he regularly worked in the store fixing instruments, she said.
"We have customers come specifically to us because of Ed's work and reputation," she said. "I'll just miss Ed's sense of humor."
Houghton said she didn't know Ryan well and that she never worked with him.
