Thousands Still Without Power In Altoona And Surrounding Area

English: Undetailed map of Altoona, Pennsylvania and some surrounding areas From my talk page: :I drew the map of Altoona in xpaint from a map on the Internet and a Rand-McNally atlas. It’s in the public domain. — Djinn112 04:40, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) –$ 02:38, 2 Oct 2004 (UTC) Category:Altoona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Four buildings partially collapsed Monday night in Altoona, according to city police.

Emergency crews kept busy tonight with flooded basements, damaged structures and downed trees and power lines as now-post-tropical Sandy continues its march into the mid-Atlantic states.

The humongous storm also brought a wintry mix as far north as Johnstown.

Around 9:45 p.m. Monday, police said they would likely close Fifth and Sixth avenues near Union Avenue in Altoona for the entire night after winds blew a huge chunk of a brick building onto the roadway.

High winds whipped against nearby pedestrians as emergency vehicles blocked the roads.

Read more: http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/565627/-Updated-11-45-p-m—Thousands-still-without-power.html?nav=742

One Dead, Thousands Without Power; Roads Remain Closed In NEPA

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

8-year-old Susquehanna County boy died Monday when wind from superstorm Sandy knocked a tree limb onto him north of Montrose, authorities said.

And while widespread power outages have left nearly 150,000 in the dark, Northeast Pennsylvania, for the most part, escaped the devastation Sandy left in many other areas.

“We can report back that everything is in really good shape,” Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien said at a 6 a.m. briefing.

In Lackawanna County, eleven 911 dispatchers and two supervisors handled 1,313 calls from 3 p.m. Monday through 6 this morning, with downed power lines being the main source of problems.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/one-dead-thousands-without-power-roads-remain-closed-1.1395736

Philadelphia, Suburbs Emerge From Sandy

English: This is my own work, Public Domain Photograph, not copyrighted Ed Yakovich http://www.flickr.com/photos/10396190@N04 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The scene at the corner of Chelten and Wissahickon avenues in Philadelphia said it all: A blue mountain bike, badly mangled and turned upside down, but still somehow tethered to a bicycle rack.

The city and its suburbs emerged shaken but largely intact Tuesday morning, after taking a night’s beating from Sandy’s high winds and rain. Some people remained in shelters, but waterways were receding in certain areas, and many residents were coming outside to survey the damage and take a deep breath of relief.

Travel remained challenging, with downed power lines and trees closing streets. SEPTA began resuming services at noon, hoping to bring the system to full strength piece by piece. Shopping malls planned to reopen Tuesday, though an estimated 1.2 million were without power across Pennsylvania.

A Peco spokesperson said total outages for Southeastern Pennsylvania reached more than 800,000 at the height of the storm, shattering previous records, and as of Tuesday morning 585,000 were without service. Restoration could take days.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20121030_Philadelphia__suburbs_emerge_from_Sandy.html

A.C. Hammered, But An Overall Sigh Of Relief At The Jersey Shore

Atlantic Ocean shore at Atlantic City, New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Officials in Atlantic City scrambled this morning to fully assess the extensive damage caused by Sandy, which launched a direct hit there last night, submerging most of the city in water.

But they let out a collective sigh of relief: No deaths had been reported as feared when thousands were trapped in the city.

And other Shore towns found less damage than thought.

Authorities in Atlantic City were going door to door throughout the city early this morning. Some streets were still impassable.  And parts of the boardwalk were torn away in the north end.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20121030_A_C__hammered__but_an_overall_sigh_of_relief_at_Shore.html?viewAll=y

Thousands In Lancaster County Still Without Power In Aftermath Of Sandy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Creeks and rivers are rising, roads are closed and thousands of people still are without power, but Lancaster County awoke today relatively unscathed from Sandy.

The storm dumped anywhere from 2.5 to 5 inches of rain on the county and unleashed steady winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph.

About 5,800 people were without power in scattered locations from West Cocalico to Drumore townships early today, down from about 8,500 earlier in the day.

At sunrise, about 40 roads were closed, mostly due to downed trees and utility poles.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/767458_Thousands-here-still-without-power-here-in-aftermath-of-Sandy.html#ixzz2AnbC94A8

Sandy’s Lehigh Valley Impact: Two Deaths, Power Outages, Damaged Trees, Closed Roads

Hurricane Sandy left about 400,000 homes and businesses in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos regions in the dark and without as many trees and has been blamed for the death of a 17-year-old Wind Gap boy and a Berks County man.

Robert Mills of 81 Eighth St. died in Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest after crashing an all-terrain-vehicle into a fallen tree about 9:30 p.m. Monday in Plainfield Township, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim reported. Grim said Mills was thrown off the ATV when he drove into the tree which had fallen on W. Center Street near Route 33, and he suffered fatal head injuries.

A fallen tree also caused the death of a 62-year-old Berks County man Monday night.  The Berks County coroner’s office said Gerald Witman was killed when a tree fell on his home in Pike Township near Boyertown,

Local officials did not report any significant damage to buildings or public structures except for three house fires Monday night in Buck County in the 1300 block of Old Bethlehem Pike near Quakertown and in Tinicum Township and Chalfont.  Though it was not immediately clear if they were linked to the storm, an emergency radio dispatcher said no injuries were reported in the fires.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-superstorm-sandy-allentown-lehigh-valley-storm–20121030,0,2995804.story

Superstorm Weakening, Worst Has Passed For Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA — A one-two punch of rain and high wind from a monster hybrid storm that started out as a hurricane battered Pennsylvania, leaving more than a million people without power as officials prepared to assess the damage Tuesday.

The storm soaked Philadelphia and its suburbs Monday night but forecasters said the worst was behind the state by daybreak Tuesday.

Major interstates around Philadelphia reopened Tuesday morning although some speed and vehicle restrictions remained in place across the state.  Additional road closures were likely in the day ahead, as the center of the storm was forecast to turn north from the Harrisburg area.

The severity of the storm in Pennsylvania expressed itself during the day Monday through a set of increasingly worrisome numbers, from the hundreds of people who fled their homes in the southeastern part of the state to the power outages affecting more than 1.2 million customers by early Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20121030/NEWS03/121039970/superstorm-weakening-worst-has-passed-for-pa-

Pottstown / Tri-County Hurricane Sandy Aftermath Information

Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Updated at 11:08 p.m.) POTTSTOWN, PA — Numerous power outages and downed trees are making travel dangerous this morning after Hurricane Sandy blew through the area.  Route 100 is closed in several locations due to wires including at Pughtown Road, Route 23, Prizer and Flowing Springs roads in Chester County.

The Perkiomen Creek is rising fast and is expected to crest later this morning.

In a press conference Tuesday morning, Gov. Tom Corbett asked residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary, though this did not stop a crowd of people from lining up for coffee and donuts at the Pottstown Dunkin Donuts on East High Street.

Around 9 a.m., the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation lifted speed limit restrictions on most major highways in the state except for Interstate 90 and 79 in the northwest.  The remains of Tropical storm Sandy were slowly heading northwest toward the Great Lakes Tuesday morning.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20121030/NEWS01/121039979/trees-cause-havoc-after-sandy-hits-(video)&pager=full_story

Reports Of Damage, Road Closings Caused By Hurricane Sandy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Several local roads are closed because of downed trees, utility poles and wires, emergency officials said this morning.

Route 61 is closed between Route 73 and Ashley Way in Ontelaunee Township, and Route 183 is closed between West Leesport Road and Palisades Drive in Bern Township.

There were also reports of trees blocking secondary roads and scattered power outages throughout Berks County and surrounding areas, dispatchers said.

The West Shore Bypass, Warren Street bypasses and Interstate 176 and 78 were open in all directions.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=424252

Thousands Without Power In Berks County

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Met-Ed spokesman R. Scott Surgeoner said utility crews from as far away as Michigan were fanning out this morning across Berks County assessing the damage from the remnants of Tropical Storm Sandy.

By 9:15, Met-Ed reported more than 67,000 customers were without power, including more than 8,800 in Reading; nearly 5,800 in Exeter Township; and more than 4,000 in Cumru Township.  PPL Electric Utilities reported about 4,000 outages, of which about half were in Wyomissing.

In order to get a jump on storm damage, Met-Ed had crews out Monday night and early today during the height of the high winds and sometimes heavy rains.

“Once the winds reach 40 mph we can’t have anyone in a bucket up in the air,” Surgeoner said.

“We still had crews out doing ground work.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=424274

King Of Prussia Mall Opening Late Today

King of Prussia Mall (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

King of Prussia Mall will open late today, Tuesday October 30th, due to weather.  The mall will open at 1PM, though some stores may remain closed.  Please check with your favorite store to find out about their opening hours today.