Multiple Water Rescues After Major Flooding In Plum, Penn Hills
Allegheny County (KDKA) -- Severe flooding lead to at least seven water rescues Monday morning in Allegheny County.
The Allegheny County swift-water response team rescued at least three people at "Plum Creek Estates" in Plum Borough and the surrounding areas.
Major flooding also hit "The Meadows" in Penn Hills.
Sandy Creek Road was shut down between Allegheny River Boulevard and Verona Road. Also, Lime Hollow Road between Coal Hollow Road and Springdale Drive was also closed overnight.
KDKA Traffic Reporter Celina Pompeani:
Officials say all the rain overnight caused waters to rise and neighborhoods to flood.
No injuries were reported and the rescues all went smoothly, officials in Plum said.
Two extra boats were there for backup.
"We encountered a significant amount of flooding, more than this area is really prone to. The local departments did a superb job on getting the teams in here to get these people rescued," said Wayne Lewis, of the Allegheny County Swiftwater/Flood Response Team.
PennDOT has listed these road closures in Allegheny County due to flooding (11 p.m. update):
• Shoulder restrictions on Route 2064 (Lime Hollow Road) between Coal Hollow Road and Springdale Drive in the Municipality of Penn Hills due to flooding;
• Single-lane restriction on Route 380 (Saltsburg Road) between Center New Texas Road and Center Hill Road in Plum Borough due to flooding;
• Route 2086 (Leechburg Road) between Unity Trestle Road and Ralph Street in Plum Borough is closed due to flooding;
• Route 2053 (Lower Rodi Road) between Route 22 and Thompson Run Road in Wilkins Township is closed due to flooding;
• Route 3015 (Snowden Road) in South Park Township is closed due to a tree into utility wires;
• Route 4036 (Big Sewickley Creek Road) in Franklin Park Borough is closed near Warrendale Bayne Road due to downed power lines;
• A single-lane restriction on Route (3062) Greentree Road in Scott Township due to an issue with a sewer line;
• Single-lane restriction on Route 2065 (Larimer Avenue) between Rodi Road and Thompson Run Road in Wilkins Township due to flooding.
For further updates on road closures and other problem areas, visit 511pa.com.
Now people who live in Plum and Penn Hills are picking up the pieces as they worry about more rain.
While Mary Steele is overwhelmed by the amount of damage done to the inside of her business, Steele's Auto Service in Penn Hills, it's the outside of the business that concerns her most.
"Is the building going to fall? Is the structure?" said Steele. "The hillside goes all the way out to the edge of the dirt. This was a whole hillside. It was brush, vegetation. Everything is gone."
The water from Plum Creek was so high, it picked up two cars and two dumpsters from a parking lot near Plum Creek Estates.
Angela Joyce couldn't believe what she saw when she looked outside I saw the water rushing like rapids.
"I was worried about the car, so I grabbed her, I grabbed my keys and I started to go down the steps and the water took me down on my knees, I almost lost her," said Joyce.
She scraped both of her knees in the process.
"Thank goodness for the two neighbor boys in the back. I screamed help and they came over, got the dog, and got me out of here," said Joyce.
Claus Emerling spent the morning looking for something things that washed away from his yard.
"It was my grill, my rakes, my garbage cans," said Emerling.
His chairs were also washed away, which he ended up finding later.
"I'm just happy to be alive," said Emerling.
