Region pounded with more flooding
Record rainfall in Southwestern Pennsylvania wreaked havoc across Washington and Greene counties overnight, causing flooding that resulted in several water rescues and evacuations, business closings and dozens of road closures.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a flash flood warning until 12:30 p.m. Friday, warning of “widespread dangerous flash flooding.”
The city of Washington and McDonald Borough declared a state of emergency in their communities Friday morning. Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess cited “extraordinary rainfall and weather conditions” while McDonald officials said the town experienced extensive damage.
In Canton Township, nine swiftwater rescue teams evacuated as many as 50 people from Washington Estates Mobile Home Park as floodwaters rose fast, officials said.
Rescuers evacuated one woman from the mobile home park who was 36 weeks’ pregnant and went into labor and transported her to an ambulance after she was unable to make it through floodwaters.
The other residents were taken by buses to Canton Township Volunteer Fire Department, where cots and food were provided.
“It was bad,” said Gerry Coleman, Director of Public Safety for Washington County. “Calls started coming in for flooding late afternoon and early evening, and then a second wave of rain came through around 6:30ish, and that’s when things got bad,” said Coleman. “There were dozens of calls from throughout the county of people driving into floodwaters who had to be rescued. Multiple departments were called for boats to assist with rescues.”
Some residents of the mobile home park decided not to evacuate, so swiftwater teams went back on foot later door-to-door to make sure they were OK.
A thick layer of mud remained on West Pike Street in Houston Friday afternoon. Some businesses remained open while cleaning while others closed.
Helltown Taproom was among those shut down until further notice because of damage.
Manager Jess Scott said the water had subsided by Friday morning, but that it appeared the taproom had flooded significantly overnight.
“It looks like it was about a foot and a half to two feet underwater,” Scott said.
The concrete floors are a mess with mud and debris, she said, and drywall will need to be replaced. Scott estimated the business lost about half of its supply of beer. Some merchandise, such as hoodies and T-shirts, was also destroyed.
Scott hoped they would be able to reopen soon, but did not anticipate to be doing business this weekend.
“We are hoping to be open by mid-next week, but that could change by the hour,” Scott said.
The nearby Voodoo Brewing managed to escape damage. Michael Shanley, the general manager, said they decided to stay closed out of respect for the neighboring residents and businesses who were not as lucky.
However, they were still at work Friday.
“We invited the entire municipality – anyone who works for the town locally, firefighters – to come here and have a free meal,” Shanley said Friday afternoon.
The state Department of Transportation District 12 reported dozens of road closures due to flooding, and downed trees, washed-out roads and flooded basements were reported throughout Thursday night.
West McMurray Road in Peters Township was closed, along with portions of state Routes 50 and 980 in Cecil Township.
A majority of school districts in Washington County, along with Central Greene School District in Greene County, closed or switched to remote classes on Friday due to flooding and road closures.
No injuries were reported overnight, officials said.
The additional rain came after torrential rain last week caused flooding and mudslides throughout the region.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said 2.77 inches of rain recorded on Thursday shattered the old daily record of 1.46 inches, set in 1933. Some areas of Washington County received as much as four inches of rainfall Thursday.
The NWS said Thursday’s relentless rainfall was caused by a large and growing low-pressure system moving from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, and is expected to last until early this weekend.
A flash flood warning was issued by the NWS until 12:30 p.m. Friday for most of the region, and wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph were reported throughout Friday, which was expected to lead to more downed trees due to saturated ground, the NWS said. A wind advisory remained in effect until 7 a.m. Saturday.
This month’s rain has shattered several records, according to the NWS.
It is already the third-wettest April on record – and likely will become the wettest by the end of the month – and it has been the wettest first 11 days on record for any month on record.
Also, it is the only time the first- and second-greatest daily rainfall for a month have occurred in the same year. April 2 trails Thursday’s rainfall. Thursday was the 25th-wettest day on record, dating back to 1871.
Pittsburgh is now 6.11 inches above normal for rainfall.
“We’re still compiling numbers to send up to PEMA (Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency) from last week’s storm, and I hope this is it. It’s still early in the spring,” said Coleman. “The rain last night just came down so hard, and those waters came up so fast.”
He said North and South Strabane townships, and several communities in the northern part of the county also were hard-hit.
In McDonald, the borough will have four large dumpsters, slated to arrive Saturday morning, for residents to dispose of storm debris and damaged items..
Matt Amoroso, assistant chief at McDonald Fire Department, said while they had been prepared for last week’s rainfall, “yesterday caught us off guard.”
According to Amoroso, firefighters responded to 10 flood-related incidents, including rescuing a driver who had driven through standing water.
Stanley Sadowski, chief at Lawrence Fire Department in Cecil Township, also said Thursday’s rain came unexpectedly, but they were in a good position to start responding to calls.
Reports of flooding started coming in at about 7:30 p.m., while firefighters at Sadowski’s department happened to be training.
“We had a station full of staff,” Sadowski said.
According to Sadowski, Cecil Township got hit hardest along Georgetown Road, where several homes flooded.
Mike Jones and Jon Andreassi contributed to this report.