NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
18 September 2004

INCREASE IN EXPECTED FLOOD LEVEL EXPANDS EVACUATION AND DAMAGE ZONES

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that major flooding is expected in Harrisburg and in many other communities in the region.

This is a result of the extensive rainfall in the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers’ basins late Friday and into Saturday morning.

The projected flood level has been revised upward twice today and is now expected to reach between 24 to 26 feet by 3:00 a.m. on Monday. The Susquehanna River will likely reach the flood stage of 17 feet at 11:00 p.m. tonight.

At the DeHart Dam, the city’s primary water supply located 20 miles north of the city, rainfall was measured at 7.4 inches in less than 24 hours from Friday to this morning. Heavy rains in areas to the north and west flow downriver to Harrisburg, Reed said.

Evacuations in multiple neighborhoods will occur. Persons in the affected areas are receiving written notices door-to-door this afternoon. The evacuations will begin at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, when police and fire units begin doing route alerting through their sirens and public address systems. That will be the time for people to leave, although persons who know they are in an affected area can depart at any time before then if they wish.

Reed said persons without a place to stay will be accommodated at Red Cross Shelters. The main shelter will be at the Messiah Lutheran Church at North 6th and Forster Streets, which will open at 8:00 a.m. Sunday.

Persons without transportation should go to the nearest intersection of a major street when the evacuation announcement is made. Buses will pick them up and transport to a shelter. Persons who cannot walk can be accorded special transport through Community Life Team ambulances or medical transport vans.

In flood-related activities, Reed noted:

• The Paxton Creek, which flows from north to south through most of the city, began flooding shortly after Midnight and inundated many areas; many cars were stalled, flooded and abandoned and many are now a total loss; multiple rescues occurred of trapped persons overnight, mostly on Cameron Street and Maclay Street; hundreds of structures have had flood water inundation;
• As the river rises, it will reduce the flow of creeks and streams, which may cause them to back-up and further flood;
• A State of Disaster Emergency was declared for Harrisburg at 5:36 a.m. due to extensive street flooding and the pending river flood;
• In evacuation areas, extra-duty police will be stationed to provide security and to prevent mischief; a curfew will be in place that prohibits anyone who does not live in that area from being there; violators will be arrested on the spot;
• Heavy rains and wind overnight caused two structure collapses at 224 Hummel Street and 1904 N. 5th Street
• City Island is expected to be mostly covered by flood water; the buildings at RiverSide Village Park and Harbourtown have been relocated to higher ground; most vehicles have been taken off the surface lots; City Island vendors are securing or removing their equipment;
• At the State Farm Show Complex, flood waters began to cover parking lots and parts of buildings early this morning and worsened as the day progressed; the dairy show that was taking place this weekend, which included 4,000 live cows, has been ended and participants are loading-up and going home;
• The City’s Emergency Management Team has been activated and the Emergency Operations Center will be in full use starting early Sunday morning. In readiness are city crews, boats, pumps, hoses, sandbags, barricades, portable stop signs, street clearance machinery and other materials, all of which will be used to deal with the effects of flooding;
• When flood waters recede, clean-up and recovery will be the next tasks; the City will have Re-Entry Teams comprised of Codes Officers and utility company repre-sentatives who will go door-to-door, block-by-block to verify that a structure is safe to reoccupy; this is to protect occupants and the general public.

Reed said this about the pending flood: “From our history, we know that any flooding event will involve cost, loss, damage and inconvenience. Harrisburg has weathered such events in the past and will do so this time, too. Harrisburg will deal with this with determination, high spirit and full confidence in our capacity to not only completely recover but to further advance this City’s progress.”

XXX