but here in west pittston, many homes and many lives have been devastated. it was a day of unnerving discovery. >> that's my sister's house and we're katty corner to her. >> reporter: but water made it impossible for katy callaghan to get to what she's lost. >> it's disgust. disgust. it's your home. >> reporter: whole neighborhoods in west pittston swallowed up by the susquehanna river. >> that's where the river bank is. >> carl rosencrantz jr. made the muddy trek to his parents' house, their backyard swimming pool sunk by more than two feet of water. >> the swimming pool is under there. they got water on the first floor. >> reporter: inside the tv room and basement, all damaged by the flooding. in some spots a boat was the only way to get around. floating fire crews rescued those who didn't evacuate. but even in this mess, some still refused to leave. >> we're staying, we're good. we got food and water. >> good luck. >> we just want to get them out. >> reporter: west pittston is not protected by levees. a choice locals say was influenced years ago by people

. >> reporter: here in west pittston, the floodwaters are quickly receding. in fact, the street where i'm standing was completely underwater a few hours ago, scott. right now, the stench of fuel oil is overwhelming here. a remind over how toxic these waters are and how massive the cleanup efforts will be in the months ahead. >> pelley: elaine, thank you very much. a cameraman captured the terror of 9/11 as it happened. the photojournalist shares his pictures and his story coming next. i can't enjoy my own barbecue with these nasal allergies. i know what works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris. omnaris, to the nose! did you know nasal symptoms like congestion can be caused by allergic inflammation? omnaris relieves your symptoms by fighting inflammation. side effects may include headache, nosebleed, and sore throat. i tossed those allergy symptoms out of my party. [ man ] omnaris. ask your doctor. battling nasal allergy symptoms? omnaris combats the cause. get omnaris for only $11 at omnaris.com. battling nasal allergy symptoms? omnaris

west pittston, pennsylvania. once a victim of hurricane irene. now a victim of gridlock.r of this woman's home was destroyed by flooding. she received $1,300 from fema to cover emergency how ever housing but is still waiting on help from fema to rebuild. >> people have no flood insurance. very little warning to get out of their houses so they have nothing. they're the ones that they need to step in and do something about. they have to stop worrying about shoveling money overseas for different thing. and worry about what's going to in this country. >> fema is scheduled to run out of cash by the end of the week. congressional republicans and democrat are wrangling over short material spending bill. the major hold-up, funding for fema. republicans want to offset additional emergency aid with spending chuts democrats oppose. irwin the national center for disaster preparedness at columbia university says, flood victims shouldn't be used as a political football. >> why americans and american communities are being held hostage by political wrangling which is so far beyond their