Pennsylvania officials order evacuation of up to 200,000 due to flooding

[Roon]

Pennsylvania officials order evacuation of up to 200,000 due to flooding
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

[whyzayker]

1. Same here in upstate NY

Here in Binghamton, they're worried that the flood walls are going to break. Evacuated a large part of the eastside of the city.

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. Went to school at SUNY

Love the town. Stay safe. Not like you're gonna be able to get out of there. I-88 is washed out in Sidney; 17 East is closed, and I-81 south is caput. Leaving you only Horseheads and Syracuse for rescue. Aaaaargh.

Seriously. If they tell ya to leave, for fuck's sake, LEAVE!!!

[dave29]

2. Please look away from the water

there is no global warming. It is not happening.

[Skink]

3. The Rapture is upon us.

Dan Brown willed it so.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Wilkes-Barre? Home of the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae)?

Oh please please ... I hope all their important records are stored in the basement. :evilgrin:

[oasis]

5. Rendell on top of the situation. He won't get Swiftboated like Blanco did.

:thumbsup:

[Penndems]

12. He sure is . . . :)

Rendell says we have 'dodged a bullet'

Governor declares a disaster area in 46 eastern counties; Pa. National Guard sent on rescue missions.

Link: http://www.pennlive.com/

[oasis]

23. Thanks for the link.

:hi:

[TommyO]

7. I live in Easton, it's looking very bad!

The current main image is of one of our major intersections. The building with the red upper portion is The Brake Shop where I have most of my car maintenance done. To the right of that is the newly renovated Northampton County Assistance Office (welfare office) - it used to be a two floor building, after the 2005 flooding they made the former first floor into parking space and raised the entire building. To the left of The Brake Shop is an Exxon gas station, the pumps are already submerged and water is approaching the canopy over them.

This is the third, and worst, flood in the last two years - I hope that all of the local businesses that are impacted are able to survive this latest blow from mother nature.

[SeattleRob]

8. I'm a native of NEPA

I went through Agnes in 1972 and I have family back there. I have heard they are evacuating the Wyoming Valley as a precaution because of fear of the levees breaking. (I hope they hold.) The next 24 hours will be crucial.

My thoughts and prayers are with the folks back there.

[jn2375]

9. Lived here all my life, never saw rain like this

Yesterday if poured continuous, I started getting really nervious last night when the heavy rain just kept coming. Rain was running in gushers down our backyard. Thankfully I'm not one of the unlucky ones that live near the river or creek, they are getting flooded big time. Harrisburg was ordering evacuations last night.

[Ezlivin]

10. Good thing that Halliburton has built all those detention camps

A Halliburton subsidiary has just received a $385 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security to provide "temporary detention and processing capabilities."

The contract -- announced Jan. 24 by the engineering and construction firm KBR -- calls for preparing for "an emergency influx of immigrants, or to support the rapid development of new programs" in the event of other emergencies, such as "a natural disaster." The release offered no details about where Halliburton was to build these facilities, or when. (Read more here.)

[Delphinus]

11. Where in the world are 200,000 people going to go?

That's almost the size of our city! I simply cannot imagine.

Stay safe!

[hedgehog]

13. And I think of Wilkes- Barre as a small city.

What happens when/if flooding continues further downstream with this storm or the next one. Global warming is here. I think we may be past the tipping point as far as prevention goes. From now on, we should be planning for the response which may include relocating a lot of people and/or modifying a lot of infrastructure.

[Earth_First]

14. Veteran's Stadium???

Pardon my ignorance, this is North of the Mason/Dixon...

[Moderator]

15. kick

[Earth_First]

16. Up to 200,000 told to flee Northeast flooding

Up to 200,000 told to flee Northeast flooding
Storm kills 12; state of emergency declared in more than 50 counties



As water rises above the banks of the Schuylkill River, Philadelphia Water Department workers remove submerged sandbags to reuse and protect a firehouse and nearby homes.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Up to 200,000 people in the Wilkes-Barre area were ordered to evacuate their homes Wednesday because of rising water on the Susquehanna River, swelled by a record-breaking deluge that had killed at least 12 people across the Northeast.

Thousands more were ordered to leave their homes in New Jersey, New York and Maryland. Rescue helicopters plucked residents from rooftops as rivers and streams surged over their banks, washed out roads and bridges, and cut off villages in some of the worst flooding in the region in decades.

Wilkes-Barre, a northeastern Pennsylvania city that was devastated by deadly flooding in 1972 from the remnants of Hurricane Agnes, is protected by levees, and officials said the Susquehanna was expected to crest just a few feet from the tops of the 41-foot floodwalls.

An estimated 2,200 people were ordered to evacuate the area around Lake Needwood at Rockville, Md., which was approaching 25 feet above normal. Engineers reported weakened spots on the lake’s earthen dam.

More at link: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13589161/?GT1=8211

[LiberalEsto]

17. I live near Lake Needwood

but luckily I'm upstream from it. We had another cloudburst about an hour ago and I sincerely hope that it didn't rain enough to make the dam break.

The tv news says people downstream in Rockville are being told to evacuate and go to emergency shelters.

[NashVegas]

18. 117 Miles of NY State Thruway Closed

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=495494&category=&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=6/28/2006


And part of I88 has been washed out.

Two truckers were killed today when they drove into a chasm cut into Interstate 88 in Binghamton by drenching rains that flooded homes, closed roads, cut power and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people across upstate New York.

[smirkymonkey]

19. Holy crap!

I had no idea it was that bad. God forbid if a Cat 3+ hurricane passes through these parts.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. That's awful

I've driven that road (Binghamton-Albany) a hundred times. Jesus. I thought the deer and fog were bad.

[aquart]

21. Bloomberg was on TV with NYC's disaster plans.

Said we wouldn't rely on the federal government.

I assume that's because we want to live.

[The Brethren]

22. it's worse

then I had expected. My best wishes for those in the affected areas.