Ivan does damage in state
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Heavy rains from remnants of Hurricane Ivan swelled creeks and spilled into streets and highways, prompting widespread evacuations of low-lying areas and trapping some people in their homes. The rain and winds also knocked out power to more than 44,000 customers across western Pennsylvania, according to Allegheny Power and Duquesne Light. No serious injuries were reported by authorities.
The storm, which dumped more than seven inches of rain in one part of Pittsburgh and several inches or more in many other areas, threatened to overwhelm a dam in Beaver County, according to the National Weather Service. Authorities were watching the Hughes Lake Dam in Hanover Township, Beaver County, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, because they feared it could fail.
Among the areas hardest hit was Etna, a town along the Allegheny River north of Pittsburgh, where flood waters continued to rise, submerging cars and prompting evacuations. The waters even forced the borough’s fire department to leave the fire hall.
June Lang, the bookkeeper at Etna’s Blarney Stone Restaurant, was waiting along with two other employees to be rescued.
“We’re on the second floor and we’re safe,” she said, adding that about four feet of water was in the parking lot. “It’s getting to be laughable because it’s past the point of getting scared.”
“It’s a sea of water out here. We saw our Dumpster floating by,” she said, adding that not since 1986 has flooding been so bad.
Down the river in Millvale, streets were filled with water and residents were urged to get as high as they could in their homes and hang bright clothing out of their windows until help could arrive.
Further south in Washington County, three mobile home parks and two personal care homes were evacuated and school students were also rescued from several stranded buses, said Jeffrey Yates, the county’s public safety coordinator.
“About half the county’s got basement flooding,” he said. Water was also flowing over several dams, but he didn’t think they were in immediate danger of failing.
Meanwhile, floodwaters turned the hallways of the Armstrong County Courthouse into a creek with four feet of water. There were several mudslides and vehicles were swept from bridges, but no one was seriously injured, said Randy Brozenick, Armstrong County’s emergency management director.
“We knew there was something coming, but we didn’t expect this latitude,” he said.
Flooding was reported in almost every area of Beaver County, including Industry, where every road was closed due to flooding.
The Allegheny County Port Authority suspended some outlying trolley service because of flooding and numerous roads were shut across the western half of the state.
The Pirates postponed their game against the New York Mets and most high school football games were canceled.
The remnants of Ivan followed the remnants of Hurricane Frances, which also hit the western part of the state hard.