NEWS INFORMATION FROM |
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THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
FOR IMMEDIATE USE |
EMERGENCY BULLETIN—ALL MEDIA MAJOR FLOODING TO OCCUR IN CITY; EVACUATIONS TO BE ORDERED; PAXTON CREEK INUNDATING AREAS; STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLAREDHarrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed this morning reported that extensive additional rainfall throughout the Juniata and Susquehanna River basins late Friday and into Saturday will cause major flooding in the City of Harrisburg. Evacuations in multiple neighborhood areas will be ordered. Persons in affected areas will receive door-to-door written instructions today. Evacuations will need to be underway and completed by tonight in the lowest-lying sections. Police and fire units will do route alerting messages over their public address systems, as well, to warn residents and businesses to relocate. The Red Cross will be establishing shelters for those with no other place to go. Since late Friday night, the Paxton Creek—which flows north to south parallel to Cameron Street—has been flooding and is now inundating wide areas. Hundreds of commercial and industrial structures and areas have been flooded. Numerous cars have been stalled and flooded, some with water over their rooftops. Multiple rescues were conducted, mostly along Cameron and Maclay Streets. The Mayor declared a State of Disaster Emergency at 5:36 a.m. today in the wake of worsening conditions and the pending major flooding from the river. Present forecasts show the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg going to 24 feet by late Sunday night/early Monday morning before beginning to recede. That projection is subject to further change as further rainfall occurs upstream. XXX |
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