Cleanup continues after flash flooding

A disaster emergency was declared Saturday in Allegheny County.

As more rain soaked the region over the weekend, communities are still cleaning up flood-damaged areas.

On Friday, a heavy rain event began around 2:30 p.m. and resulted in sustained downpours and thunderstorms, primarily impacting parts of Allegheny County in Monroeville, Penn Hills, Pitcairn, White Oak, McKeesport, North Versailles, Wall Borough and parts of Plum. While other areas experienced flash flooding, including towns along the river and creeks in the Mon Valley like Elizabeth and Monongahela, Allegheny County was the hardest hit.

According to Allegheny County Emergency Services, crews were on the ground starting Friday helping coordinate water rescues and assessing damage as water receded.

Five swift water units, including Glassport, Elizabeth, Jefferson and Blawnox, were deployed to White Oak/McKeesport and North Versailles for assistance.

At least three rescues were made from two homes in North Versailles and one rescue was made from a vehicle in flood waters on Route 48 in White Oak.

Rainbow Volunteer Fire Chief Brandon Schmidt said roughly six cars needed help to safety on Friday.

He said three of the borough’s main drags were hit the hardest: Lincoln Way, Long Run Road and Jacks Run Road.

“If you try to drive through it, there’s the issue of your engine stalling out, getting water locked and then you’re stuck and you’re in high water. The firefighters have got to come get you,” Schmidt said.

Water rescue teams concluded their work Friday night, with no additional reports of serious injuries or fatalities.

As a result of heavy rain, multiple reports of landslides were reported.

Allegheny County Emergency Services worked over the weekend to confirm locations and extent, and findings have not yet been made available.

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato declared a countywide disaster emergency Saturday as people continued to clean up damage caused by the flash floods.

The state of emergency allows the Allegheny County Emergency Services coordinator to “coordinate all emergency response efforts, take necessary actions to reduce the impact of this disaster, assist in restoring essential services, and implement all emergency response measures deemed necessary.”

Allegheny County is also authorized to take any necessary actions to make repairs and ensure safety after the flooding. That includes hiring temporary workers, renting equipment, purchasing supplies and entering into emergency contracts.

“Allegheny County will be a partner in the clean up and assessment work with municipal partners and the Red Cross,” ACES said in a statement. “The Allegheny County Department of Public Works is also active today (Saturday) assessing damage and response support as needed with the municipalities that experienced flooding and storm damage.”

According to KDKA-TV, 83-year-old Bud Parker of North Versailles wasn’t worried about damage caused to his property over the weekend despite the storm leaving a large hole in his driveway.

Parker said the storm brought flooding to his Fifth Avenue home in North Versailles.

The still-working brickmason built a bridge for his driveway above the creek in front of his home in the 1980s.

On Friday, a dead tree swept underneath the bridge when water levels rose in the creek. It damaged the bridge and caused a massive hole to open.

While Parker’s home sat high enough up off the ground that he was not displaced from the flooding, some of his neighbors were not as lucky. Ten people in his neighborhood were displaced.

“Everybody’s been cleaning up around here, in the car lot up there, up the street, they got flooded,” Parker said. “And that third house up there, they had to use a rowboat to get the people out of the house.”

As rain continued Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a flash flood watch for the region that remained in place until 10 p.m.

With rain expected to sporadically continue today, the NWS said severe storms and potential flash flooding could still be possible.

KDKA-TV contributed to this report.