Thousands evacuated as some await floods, others begin cleanup
By JENNIFER KAY
Associated Press Writer
Though the rains ended many
hours before, the remnants of
Hurricane Ivan haunted
Pennsylvania on Sunday as
flooding grew more widespread
and officials got their first look at
damage where the water had
receded. Gov. Ed Rendell
pegged the losses at hundreds
of millions of dollars.
The heavy rains that devastated
communities in the southwest
ern corner of the state Friday
night swelled rivers in central
and eastern Pennsylvania on
Sunday, forcing at least 14,000
residents to flee their homes,
according to a survey of county
emergency management offi
cials by The Associated Press.
And officials warned that the
waters would continue rising
until nighttime.
Six deaths were attributed to the
storm, state emergency man
agement officials said.
On a helicopter tour of the
Susquehanna River, Rendell
saw many houses under water
and several sewage plants that
had been wiped out. On City
Island, a spit of land in the mid
dle of river next to Harrisburg,
the city’s minor league baseball
stadium was completely under
water.
More than 1,000 residents along
the Delaware River in eastern
Pennsylvania were evacuated
as the river began overflowing
its banks Sunday. Flooding
along the Susquehanna River
forced evacuations from
Scranton to Harrisburg.
Rescuers made several dozen
water rescues, officials said.
Low-lying towns near
PSU cont. from 5
pulled a typical Penn State and
was set back 25 years. Gone
were any hopes the offense
would evolve into what fans and
media were told would be a new
offense.
There is a reason why they
scheduled Akron and Central
Florida in two of the first three
weeks. It was done in order to
give fans a false hope and a
bright outlook on the season.
Truth of the matter is there are
capable playmakers such as
Michael Robinson, Lowry him
self, and sophomore running
back Tony Hunt. But the team
has no proven leader, no fire the
troops up type quarterback.
What they have is statistically
the best quarterback to play at
the school, yes, but being the
leader in passing yardage trans
lates to nothing on the field if you
are incapable of making a big
play anymore.
When the season is all said and
done and 5-6 or still possibly 6-5
is what we all see, Paterno will
comeback with his usual array of
excuses and claim that they
were a play or two away from
being really good, blah blah this
and yada yada that.
In reality, with Mills, they arern't
any better than fifth place in a
War Id famiis
Pittsburgh, such as Etna and
Carnegie, spent Sunday clean
ing up from Friday night flood
waters that caused massive
damage to business districts.
Dozens of boats broke loose
from their docks as Pittsburgh’s
three rivers rose and crested
Saturday, some coming to rest
on the flooded Point State
Park.
“We have no idea the extent of
the damage,” Rendell told an
afternoon news conference out
side Harrisburg. “But it’s going
to be significant.”
Rendell, who toured hard-hit
Allegheny County and parts of
the Susquehanna by air
Sunday, requested federal dis
aster aid for 42 of
Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
Sunday night President Bush
declared disasters in 19 of
them, freeing up federal money
to help individuals and business
owners recover.
The American Red Cross said
Sunday it had opened 70 shel
ters statewide to provide meals
and medical care to residents.
About 1,200 people spent the
night in shelters Saturday night
and the agency served 7,000
meals Sunday, said Joyce
Casaldi, a Red Cross spokes
woman.
The heavy rains left over from
Hurricane Ivan dumped up to
nine inches of rain on some
parts of the state late Friday and
Saturday.
The Delaware River was crest
ing Sunday at about 10 feet
above flood stage, but it wasn’t
expected to fall below flood
stage until sometime Monday,
according to the National
Weather Service. The
Susquehanna River crested in
depleted Big East conference.
Lowry never mentioned a
name, and Paterno got agitated
when more beat writers pushed
him on Mills. Just once Joe, weid
like you to admit, no matter how
good of a person Mills is, no mat
ter how much character he has,
whatever, admit that he isnit any
Photo courtcsv of Pric Thomas
most places Sunday afternoon,
but it too was forecast to remain
above flood stage into Monday.
“We’re playing a waiting game
right now. We’re just waiting for
these rivers, the Susquehanna
(and the Delaware) to crest,”
Justin Fleming, deputy press
secretary for the Pennsylvania
Emergency Management
Agency, said Sunday afternoon.
Photo Courtesy ofWGAL.
This picture was captured by WGAL camera crews dur
ing the flooding in Harrisburg. Residents of Harrisburg
were advised to stay indoors during the flood.
“It’s very difficult because you
know it’s going to happen but
there’s nothing you can do to
stop it.”
The flooding was among the five
worst since record-keeping
began in the 19th century for the
Susquehanna, National
Weather Service senior fore
caster Mike Dangelo said. New
good and you need to make a
change. Admit he wasnit able to
lead you to a meaningful victory
since 2002.
Maybe Lowry sees the writing
on the wall, maybe not, but at
least he has a clue, which is
more than anyone can say for
Mills or Paterno.
3721 Market St.
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731-9602
4301
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Harrisburg
909-9050
300 N. 2nd St.
Harrisburg
920-5654
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flood records were set at two
points, at Williamsburg in Blair
County and just upstream of
Lock Haven.
On the Delaware River, flooding
fell between the levels recorded
during 1955 and 1996.
“Most of the points, if not all,
exceed what took place in 1996.
The benchmark is 1955 and we
are not going to top that,” said
meteorologist Ray Kruzdlo of
the NWS office in Mount Holly,
N.J.
The flooding damaged or
destroyed thousands of homes,
businesses and public buildings
across Pennsylvania, according
to a survey of county emer
gency management officials by
The Associated Press.
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Mobile homes took a heavy hit
from the flooding. Seventy-five
were destroyed in Canton
Township in Washington
County, in western
Pennsylvania, while 21 were
destroyed at a park in
Unionville, Centre County, offi
cials said.
An overflowing creek behind
the Armstrong County
Courthouse in Kittanning sent
four feet of water through the
courthouse’s steel doors, coun
ty Emergency Management
Agency Director Randall
Brozenick said. Five feet of
water also flooded the Gilpin
Township police department
and municipal building,
Brozenick said. “Everything
there is pretty much damaged or
gone,” he said.
Flood waters washed out eight
bridges in Fulton County, in
south-central Pennsylvania,
county Emergency
Management Director Lisa
Sherman said.
In Coburn, in Centre County, the
overflowing Penns Creek flood
ed Martin’s Feed &
Fertilizer Inc. with two feet of
water, knocking the mill out of
business for three to four
weeks. Owner Ed Martin said
neighboring mills would pick up
the slack and supply local dairy
farmers.
Scores of people suffered minor
injuries in the rain and its after
math, mostly in car accidents.
Six deaths were blamed on the
storm, Fleming said.
A 35-year-old hearing-impaired
man was swept away in
Carnegie on Friday. Rescuers
waiting for a helicopter to arrive
watched in horror as Dennis
Santiago, who had been cling-
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ing to a tree for about 45 min
utes, fell into the raging floodwa
ters.
One person suffered a fatal
heart attack while another adult
and a 2-year-old drowned, state
officials said. Details of the
deaths, and the circumstances
of the other two deaths, were
not immediately available.
Fulton County’s Sherman said
an Ayre Township man died of
asphyxiation when he was over
come with gas fumes from a
generator while pumping water
out of his basement early
Saturday morning. State offi
cials weren’t certain if the death
was among the state’s tally.
The Pennsylvania Emergency
Management Agency said about
77,000 customers statewide
were without electricity Sunday
morning, down from a peak of
about 250,000.
Rendell asked 10,000 to 20,000
nonessential state employees
who work in Harrisburg to stay
home Monday.
Though most of the water had
receded in western
Pennsylvania, many streets
remained closed Sunday and
thousands of customers were
still without power. Residents
and business owners began the
messy cleanup by salvaging
what they could and shoveling
out the thick layers of mud that
the floodwaters left behind.
The American Philatelic Society
in Bellefonte received a scare:
Floodwaters surrounded the
stamp society’s new headquar
ters and soaked the carpet on
the ground floor, but didn’t reach
the valuable stamp collection or
research library.
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