JACKSON TWP — Though Tiffany Forrester was aware of the flood risk when she and her husband bought a house off Willow Road in the northeastern part of the township just two years ago, she said she was shocked when her house and at least one other in the neighborhood were knocked off their foundations during flooding earlier this month.

Located less than 800 feet from a trestle bridge used by Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad to cross Connoquenessing Creek, her community — a former campsite now inhabited year-round by fewer than 10 residents — was devastated when the area experienced two floods within a two-week period.

“The flood didn’t do much damage in my house, interior-wise,” said Forrester, who was evacuated April 12 along with other residents. “Exterior-wise, it destroyed everything.”

After returning to her home, which her husband had bought as a gift, she learned the flood caused nearly $11,000 in damage to the home, with a bulk of the cost stemming from a need to fix the foundation — a problem she said is exacerbated by debris she believes should not have floated into the area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency deemed the area a high-risk “AE flood zone,” which means there is a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance over the life of a 30-year mortgage.

“I was excited my husband had gotten it, but I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of work that needed to be done,” she said of the house.

As April draws to a close, she said she’s more overwhelmed. She said the township did make them aware of the flood zone when they purchased the land, but they do not carry homeowner’s insurance as even the least-expensive policy would cost more than her home.

Forrester and her neighbor, John Siets, believe this flood was especially damaging because of the massive amount of debris and dead trees that washed up against their homes.

“These are not sticks; these are not twigs we’re talking about here,” she said. “These are gigantic trees that came barreling through. It could have killed someone or someone’s dog or something.”

Siets said he previously has seen small logs floating in floodwaters, but said there was “no reason” for the big logs.

Massive piles of debris are scattered throughout their neighborhood. Rotting tree trunks and logs — some nearly the size of utility poles — are in the yards of the residents. Forrester’s home remains almost completely surrounded by logs and decaying tree trunks.

One mound of twigs, logs and dead trees even blocked a section of Willow Road, preventing access to a portion of the street.

And while the neighborhood’s isolation appears to be a welcomed amenity to its residents, the large logs are not welcome guests.

“We self-maintain down here,” Siets said with a sense of pride. “We look after each other.”

When the roads are in need of maintenance, neighbors break out their snow plows. The township does not pick up trash nor shovel the roads.

The small community has tried to adapt to the flooding and find ways to raise the foundations of their homes, such as stacking cinder blocks.

“One guy dug a trench so the water will fill into the pond we made,” Siets said.

Forrester and Siets said damage brought by the latest flood should not solely be their problem to address.

On April 12, while the Connoquenessing Creek was flooding, the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad moved debris from one side of the trestle bridge near Willow Road to the other side, according to Forrester. The debris, which included large dead trees, was then set on a watery path toward the residential area, she said.

Tom Ciuba, a spokesman for the railroad, said in an email statement that the company needed to take action during the flooding because Connoquenessing Creek was up to 14 feet high during the rainfall, four times as high as it had been the day before.

“The debris was building up against and putting immense pressure on our bridge at that location,” Ciuba said. “In order to relieve that pressure, our crews moved some of the debris to avoid damage to or destruction of the bridge.”

Forrester said she understands the reasoning behind the railroad needing to move the debris, which she said included the massive logs, but she is frustrated in the way the railroad handled the situation.

“Why would they have to do it during the middle of a flood?” Forrester asked. “After that flood took place two weeks before, they should have gone up and cleaned the bridge out then, because the water was already at a safe level.”

Siets also criticized the railroad’s decision, suggesting the debris should have been transported by train instead of dumped into a flowing body of water.

“Put them in the train car,” he said.

Forrester said that when she contacted the railroad, she was told nothing would be done to remove the debris from the neighborhood’s yards.

The railroad did not respond when asked via email if it was doing anything in regard to cleaning the area.

“(The railroad) is trying to say the water knocked over my house, but then why didn’t the flood knock over (my neighbor’s house) that has nothing next to them,” she said pointing to her neighbor’s bare lawn.

“They are not doing anything,” she continued. “They told me it’s not their responsibility.”

Siets said he is not looking for a handout from the railroad, but he wants to make sure measures are in place to prevent this from happening again.

“We’re all going to get together and clean up this crap anyway, because we are a group down here,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, don’t let it happen again, because we don’t want to have to do this every summer.”