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Versailles Cleaning Up After Fast-Moving Storms

VERSAILLES (KDKA) - Extreme heat gave way to powerful thunderstorms and rain Tuesday afternoon.

In Versailles, the rain and wind cut off roads, power and flooded homes.

When daylight broke, cutting crews were taking apart one of several massive trees that closed Route 48 for more than 12 hours.

Not only had large trees fallen, but there was a large amount of rain that fell as well. The end result was more flash flooding and more yards filled with soaked debris.

"It must have been between one or two inches in about an hour. We must have made about 50 trips up and down the steps. I wanted to clear my cellar out, but not this way," Rich Poling said.

Poling and his family spent the overnight hours salvaging what they could and counting up what was lost.

"Oh, we got a bunch of stuff. I don't know maybe $700 to $800," Poling said.

At least 15 homes saw significant water damage in Versailles. You could tell who had a bad night by the size of the soaked and ruined belongings along the road.

"It's pretty horrible. It's a total loss. Everything she had down here is a total loss," a man only wanting to be identified as Don said.

Don's mother-in-law lives on one side of his First Street home and she got swamped. So did he and his sister on the other side of his home.

"That whole alley. You can barely get through the alley, it's just all contents.

Any additional rain will have nowhere to go as sewers are clogged with mud, rock and all kinds of obstructions.

For Don, there's only so much a man can take.

"I'm ready to sell. I'm ready to get out of here. This is bad," Don said. "A couple feet of water is just too much. It's horrible."

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