The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will spend more than $2 million to install temporary barriers to protect the Eastwick community from flooding, write Brandon Goldner and Alan Wheeler for CBS News Philadelphia.

The barriers, known as HESCO barriers, will span for about 1,400 feet along Cobbs Creek. They are about four feet high and three feet wide, and are made of fabric and metal wire filled with sand.

Those same barriers were recently used during major flooding in the Midwest.

FEMA administrators, politicians, and members of the Eastwick community recently gathered at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge’s visitor center to discuss plans for the barriers.

“The community needed a near-term solution; something that isn’t a decade away but can keep people safe sooner,” Victoria Salinas, who leads Resilience at FEMA, said. “That’s what the HESCO barrier really does.”

Brenda Whitfield, a member of community group, Eastwick United, is excited to see the barriers get installed.

“It doesn’t seem like a lot to a lot of people, but it’s a lot for us because it means that we get to have a sense of security,” Whitfield said. “We get to rest when it rains.”

Federal agencies are currently in the design stage, with construction exepcted to begin in late 2026.

Read more about the HESCO barriers in Eastwick in CBS News Philadelphia.

_____