Feb 15, 2018 2 min read

The storm that doused the region in about two inches of rain Thursday evening destroyed John Kerr’s second furnace in less than a year.

“My basement’s under water,” said Kerr, who lives in Union Township near Mingo Creek, which spilled over its banks amid the heavy rain. “I just got a new furnace at the end of the summer, and it’s under water again.”

Rain abated late in the evening, but more rain was expected overnight. As of late Thursday, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh had issued a flood warning for Washington County – along with some or all of several neighboring counties – until early today.

The National Weather Service predicted the Monongahela River at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ No. 4 Locks and Dam in Charleroi would exceed flood stage today, expecting water to reach more than 30 feet – about 2 feet above flood stage – by 6 p.m.

In Washington, fire Capt. Gerald Coleman said there was “nothing unusual” beyond the flooding reported in some streets.

“We’re up to 39 basement pumps,” Coleman said. “We had multiple vehicles stuck in floodwaters, but there was nobody trapped in them. Everybody self-extricated.”

He said no members of the department or community had been injured.

A county 911 supervisor said shortly before 7 p.m. dispatchers were receiving reports related to flooding throughout the city and much of the rest of the county.

Some streets in the city were impassable for part of the evening, but most of the water had subsided from the roads by 9 p.m.

City public works superintendent John Stout said one area was still closed – parts of West Beau and Washington streets where they join in an L-shaped intersection.

“That’s the lowest-lying place we have,” Stout said.

Kerr said the water was “significantly higher” at his Union Township home in July, when firefighters told him to evacuate his home.

This time around, he said he didn’t plan to do so.

“The water is more or less around my house, but I can still get out with some boots,” he added.