Severe Flooding Prompts Evacuations Across Western Pa.
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Flooding threatened homes across western Pennsylvania over the weekend. In some places, people were forced to flee to safety.
A number of East Deer Township homes were evacuated Saturday as the Allegheny River and a nearby creek flooded, sending water into basements and onto roads.
"Within an hour, it went from barely over the banks to flooding out all the basements most of the street, and it's also flooding out the street down on Grant Street, down at the other end of town," Jack Bailie, chief of the East Deer Fire Department, said.
Bailie said an ice jam was damming the river in Harmar Township and causing the creeks to flood.
At least 12 houses were evacuated. Bailie said residents in one home refused to evacuate.
There were also evacuations in Armstrong County. The surging Allegheny rover pushed water up Buffalo Creek, which threatened homes in South Buffalo Township.
"We lived her so long we know once it gets so high it usually don't go any higher. So, we just waited it out and it started going down so we were safe," Laura Jones said.
Flooding was also reported in Brackenridge and Tarentum.
Floodwaters across the area are receding, which means the cleanup process can begin.