Onlookers gather in Pittsburgh to see landmarks taken over by flooding
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - After river levels crested early Thursday morning at 28.37 feet, folks stopped by the North Shore to take in the sight and see Pittsburgh landmarks like Point State Park buried by water.
Valerie Stout was one of them.
As she looked at the Ohio River, it took her a minute to realize what she was seeing.
"Oh, my goodness!" Stout said. "That's what I came over here to see, the Point, and it's not here."
Point State Park was barely visible with the only marker being the outline of the fountain. The rest was under several feet of water, appearing to be part of the three rivers.
"Wow, that is amazing," Stout said.
However, it wasn't just the Point.
"I'm like well where is everything at now?" Stout said.
Three Rivers Trail also flooded, with the light poles, and trees slightly sticking out.
Water even submerged the boat launch leading up to the steps at the Steelers' Acrisure Stadium, where you could see just a bit of the map.
The Ohio River reached levels we haven't seen since 2005.
Brenden Sieber of Ross Township was hoping to show his friend from out of town the different sites of the city.
"Show him this, like really picturesque, the beautiful fountain where the rivers meet and everything," Sieber said.
Instead, he gave him a tour of the sites underwater.
"It's insane just how high the water levels have gotten," Sieber said. "I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was this bad."
Like the others who stopped by, they made sure to take plenty of photos, to remember the moment.
"It's definitely wild," Stout said. "I mean I didn't realize that much water had fallen in the last few days, and to see those roads closed out downtown and to come over here and really see the impact is quite interesting."
Eventually, as the waters recede there will be another sight to see, the mess left behind to clean up.
