3 storms merge; 2 more follow

The brunt of the morning storm in Westmoreland County hit Export, where heavy rain turned the turbid waters of Turtle Creek into a churning river.

The second storm brought winds that knocked down a building under construction on Route 30 in North Huntingdon, felled trees from Murrysville to Ligonier and left tens of thousands of people without power.

The first storm dumped 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches of rain on the Export and Murrysville areas in a two-hour period yesterday morning, closing Route 22 during the morning commute.

About 3,000 lightning strikes were recorded in a one-hour period in Westmoreland, Indiana and northern Fayette counties during the morning storm, the National Weather Service said.

While flooded roads and basements were reported in other parts of the county, Export and Murrysville suffered the most damage from the morning storm, said Dan Stevens, spokesman for Westmoreland County Emergency Management.

Emergency crews were assessing the damage to determine whether the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency would be called to assist.

In Export, the raging Turtle Creek ripped a pedestrian bridge from its mooring, sending the bridge floating down the center of the tiny borough.

George Grubich shook his head as the swirling stream washed away the bridge that used to link the north side of town to a community park on the south bank of Turtle Creek.

"I haven't seen flooding like this since I was 20, 21 years old," the 89-year-old Export man said.

About 2 feet of water rushed through a steel fabricating plant near the stream, while businesses on Washington Avenue had basement flooding. An estimated 15 to 20 homes sustained basement or first-floor flooding during the morning storm.

While residents were cleaning up the morning's mess, a second round came through.

Mark Manovich, who owns Master Auto Supply in Export, was standing in the basement of his store wearing knee-high rubber boots and trying to clean up from the earlier storm when the second one hit.

"I keep everything up on pallets, but the pallets weren't high enough this time," he said.

Export fire Chief Stephen Opsitnick Jr. said the afternoon storm wasn't as severe as the first.

"We're hoping this is it," he said, as he listened to a television report about a third storm moving in from Ohio.

Borough Councilman Dave Pascuzzi said a rash of development upstream from the low-lying community exacerbated the rush of water when the first storm moved through the valley.

"We have all this development around Export now and we get the drainage from all of it. Everything from Wal-Mart down, every time they pave another parking lot, we get more water," Pascuzzi said, as he surveyed damages.

He said a two-phase flood control project designed to channel the winding stream safely through the borough is in the final planning stage.

Helen Humphreys, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said state and federal permits have been secured for the project, which is in the final design stages. Construction is set to begin in 2009.

But residents and business owners said it hasn't come soon enough.

Brad Norris' family operates Durabond Steel Corp., with 75 employees, along the banks of the stream. He said the water came up so fast that cars in his parking lot were inundated before anyone could move them.

"This has been discussed so many times, this creek needing protection. The procrastination has become unbearable. We've had floods before, but this is the worst one in 50 years," he said.

Export volunteer firefighter Nicole Nichols fell victim to the waters. As she was helping flood victims, her car was lifted from its parking space and floated down Lincoln Avenue.

"All I could do was stand there and watch it float away," Nichols said.

Residents of Henry Avenue watched helplessly as their already-flooded homes were inundated again during the second storm.

"I've been through 28 years of this, and the only time water's been in my house was once before, but this is worse," Scott Latherow said, while watching mud and garbage float by. "I've been mopping, brooming and spraying water ever since this morning."

Towns surrounding Export also suffered damage.

Portions of Pittsburgh Street in Delmont were closed after a tributary of Beaver Run spilled over its banks yesterday morning, flooding several homes.

Cher Anderson said she was washing the walls in her 180-year-old home on Pittsburgh Street during the storm when she heard gurgling in the cold air returns. The water rose about 10 inches on the first floor, then receded quickly.

PennDOT had to close Route 22 between Berkshire Drive and Manor Road/Mellon Road in Murrysville because of flooding from the morning storm.

The road, which is being widened, was flooded during a storm Wednesday night. PennDOT officials say they were investigating whether the problem could be corrected.

Jay Mangold, owner of Gateway Fasteners in Murrysville, said water from Old William Penn Highway sent about 5 inches of water into his office and warehouse space.

"The road filled up with water and the only outlet was to come through the building," Mangold said. "There was nowhere for it to go."

In Jeannette, manhole covers blew off throughout the city from the water pressure. Roads were blocked by debris and traffic lights weren't working.

Jeannette Fire Capt. Randy Dubich said the storm hit hard and fast.

"It came down in buckets," Dubich said. "All the street lights came on, that how dark it was."

The amount of water caused a cave-in on a portion of Agnew Road in Jeannette near Hempfield Township.

"The water was going 2 or 3 feet over the top of the guard rail. That's when the road started caving in," said police Chief Jeff Stahl.

Petersen said experts will assess the damage to Agnew Road to determine when it can be reopened.

Radebaugh Road in Hempfield from the intersection of Kifer Road in Penn Township to the intersection of Greengate Road in Hempfield was closed due to flooding.

In Greensburg, the section of South Main Street near Mt. Pleasant Street was closed to traffic for about 45 minutes in the afternoon after surging water exceeded the storm drains' ability to carry it away, said city police Chief Walter "Wally" Lyons.

And traffic jams resulted in downtown Greensburg because signal lights weren't working during the evening commute.

Basements and roads weren't the only thing flooded.

Water even made it into Westmoreland County Judge John Blahovec's jury room through a roof leak.

Jurors hearing testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Leonard "Seven" Pritchett were relocated to a downstairs area while crews worked to patch the roof.

Despite the heavy rain and numerous lightning strikes, Allegheny Power came through the morning storm with relatively few power outages, spokesman David Neurohr said.

Westmoreland County fared far worse during the afternoon storm, which left more than 16,000 customers without power.

A building under construction at the site of the former Norwin Diner on Route 30 collapsed during the second storm. Police said three workers were injured, but further details were unavailable.

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