Now floods sweep across the northeast U.S.- 100,000 ordered to evacuate

Posted on September 8, 2011 by The Extinction Protocol

September 8, 2011 – PHILIDELHPIA – Due to flooding fears, officials in northeastern Pennsylvania are calling for a mandatory evacuation of communities along the Susquehanna River — an area that was inundated in the historic Agnes flood of 1972. The order affects more than 100,000 residents. Luzerne County Management Agency official Frank Lasiewicki told The Associated Press Thursday the river is projected to crest at nearly 41 feet between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET Thursday — the same height as the levee system protecting riverfront communities including Wilkes-Barre and Kingston. Residents were ordered to leave by 4 p.m. Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton said residents should prepare for an extended evacuation of 72 hours and advised them to take clothing, food and prescription medicine. He also asked city businesses to close their doors by noon. At least three people have died as heavy rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee saw flash flood warnings issued from Maryland to New York. Police in Derry Township, Pa., said an elderly man who was trying to bail water out of his basement was killed when the house’s foundation collapsed Wednesday. Lancaster County Emergency Management Director Randy Gockley said a motorist trapped in a vehicle drowned early Thursday morning in Elizabeth Township, Pa. Gockley said responders found between 3 and 4 feet of water on the roadway as the nearby Hammer Creek went over its banks. Another death was confirmed Thursday morning by Gockley. The National Weather Service predicted the rain would continue to fall heavily across the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states through Thursday with anywhere from 4 to 7 more inches falling and up to 10 inches in isolated pockets. The NWS issued a string of flash flood warnings early Thursday for parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. A flash flood warning for parts of Maryland said that “although rain has become light … a very dangerous situation still exists” in the affected areas. -MSNBC