Record-Breaking Rain Fall Devastates Squirrel Hill
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Heavy rain devastated Squirrel Hill and the massive cleanup effort still continues.
Folino Construction crews were busy tonight repairing and unclogging a sewer line in the 2100 block of Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Two blocks of the street have been closed to traffic.
That sewer line caused problems for three businesses along that stretch as heavy rain fell Sunday night.
According to NWS Pittsburgh, Sunday night's rain broke a 1912 record for the wettest Sept. 1.
Pittsburgh shattered it's daily precipitation record for September 1st....3.38 inches. The old record for this date is 1.29 inches set in 1912. We didn't even get that much rain in the whole month of August!
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) September 2, 2019
Mario Ulizzi's father-in-law owns the Squirrel Hill Shoe Repair Shop.
When they went to check on the shop last night, this is what they found: "Just water coming down the sidewalk like a river and just a panic when water is coming."
"It was just coming, coming up fast. Before we knew it, it was up by the ceiling."
Brenda Waters: In the basement?
Ulizzi: In the basement, a good 6 foot.
Firefighters were called in to pump water out of basements.
Other businesses along this stretch had similar problems. The Coriander Indian Grill and Christa African Hair Braiding all had basements with 6 feet of water or more.
Besides the water damage, those affected businesses are in the dark.
"They are saying power probably won't be on for about three days so anybody who is coming, expect a wait."
Folino is hoping to have repairs made and Murray Avenue open sometime tonight.