Montgomery County Officials Declare County A Natural Disaster Area

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

NORRISTOWN, PA — Montgomery County officials issued a disaster declaration Wednesday in the wake of Tuesday night’s ice storm that intensified Wednesday morning. By 9:30 p.m., Governor Corbett signed a disaster emergency proclamation. Corbett explained through his Twitter account that the proclamation will assist state and local authorities in responding to the winter storm.

The county’s disaster declaration means that if needed, the county can receive funds from the federal government and the state government. Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro said the declaration of a disaster also allows for the county to bypass the RFP process for items, like blankets, to give to shelters. He said the disaster declaration does not allow the county to purchase more road salt.

He said the county roads are cleared for the most part and crews are on standby to salt the roads as melting snow and ice freezes into the night.

According to Montgomery County Director of Communications Frank Custer, between 4 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday there were 340 electrical fires reported throughout the county, 1,207 road obstructions and 164 vehicle accidents.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20140205/montgomery-county-officials-declare-county-a-natural-disaster-area

150,000 Peco Customers Still In The Dark In Chester County

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

Update: At 8:45 a.m. Saturday, about 152,000 were still without electricity, according to Peco, down from 715,000 at the outage’s peak. Sixteen percent of the Pennsylvania suburbs remain without power; including 30% in Chester County.

Nearly 40 percent of Chester County remained powerless late Friday, with several communities entirely dark for a third straight night and officials warning that it might be days before all the lights were back on.

Peco, which had more than 5,000 utility workers – half from out of town – clearing downed trees and repairing wires Friday, continued to make progress restoring power, with more than 60,000 customers brought online during the day. At 10 p.m. Friday, about 182,000 were still without electricity, down from 715,000 at the outage’s peak.

Peco ranked the event as the largest winter power outage in its history, second overall to 2012’s Hurricane Sandy.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140208_Outages_drop__but_some_could_wait_days_for_power.html#4ypvLijq0jDuLQ2M.99

Obama Declares Lancaster County An Emergency Area: What It Means

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

With thousands still without power, President Barack Obama on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Lancaster and six other Pennsylvania counties.

The declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to bring resources to the clean-up efforts.

While local officials were still unclear about the extent of federal aid on Thursday afternoon, a FEMA spokesman said the first tangible result will likely come to the county in the form of gas-powered generators.

Peter Herrick, of Philadelphia-based FEMA Region III, said federal emergency management officials were talking to their counterparts at the state level to determine what equipment is needed.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/obama-declares-lancaster-county-an-emergency-area-what-it-means/article_851cb56a-8f60-11e3-8d16-0017a43b2370.html

Chemical Spill Shuts Down Much Of West Virginia Capital

Map of Charleston and vicinity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CHARLESTON, WV – (AP) — Schools and restaurants closed, grocery stores sold out of bottled water, and state legislators who had just started their session canceled the day’s business after a chemical spill in the Elk River in Charleston shut down much of the city and surrounding counties even as the extent of the danger remained unclear.

The federal government joined the state early Friday in declaring a disaster, and the West Virginia National Guard planned to distribute bottled drinking water to emergency services agencies in the nine affected counties. In requesting the federal declaration, which makes federal resources available to the state, state officials said about 300,000 people were affected.

Federal authorities are also launching an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the spill and what caused it, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said in a news release Friday.

Shortly after the Thursday spill from Freedom Industries hit the river and a nearby treatment plant, a licorice-like smell enveloped parts of the city, and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued an order to customers of West Virginia American Water: Do not drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes with tap water.

Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/PAWIC/140fe8300e9c43bab097b794ca7594c6/Article_2014-01-10-Chemical%20Spill-WVa/id-2310b0b7a3654ebf911d3ee5fc84f854

Force Of Tropical Storm Lee Still Felt As 69 Houses Face Demolition In Dauphin County

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

Almost two years after Tropical Storm Lee, the cleanup continues as houses damaged by flooding along the swollen Swatara Creek and later bought by the federal government are being demolished.

During the past few weeks, local municipalities have hired contractors to remove the houses, purchased through the Federal Emergency Management Agency‘s Hazard Mitigation Program.  Buyouts from FEMA were determined by the cost of rebuilding the house and future flood insurance claims.

At least 69 houses have been targeted for demolition, almost all of them on land near or adjacent to Swatara Creek.  The total cost is $8 million with the municipalities carrying 3 percent, or $250,000, of the cost.

But the long-term effects of the demolition will be bourn by the localities, as the properties slip from tax rolls and elected leaders are left wondering what to do with flood-prone vacant lots.

Read more:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/07/tropical_storm_lee_fema_buyout.html#incart_m-rpt-2

Vast Defenses Now Shielding New Orleans

English: Landsat 7 image of New Orleans sitting between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. The city appears a pinkish shade in the April 26, 2000 image. The image uses the ETM+ bands 7, 4, and 2. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW ORLEANS — Finally, there is a wall around this city.

Nearly seven years after flood waters from Hurricane Katrina gushed over New Orleans, $14.5 billion worth of civil works designed to block such surges is now in place — a 133-mile chain of levees, flood walls, gates and pumps too vast to take in at once, except perhaps from space.

Individual components of the system can be appreciated from a less celestial elevation. At the new Seabrook floodgate complex, climb up three steep ladders, open a trap door, and step out into the blazing sunlight atop a 54-foot tower that was not here just two years ago. From there one looks out over a $165 million barrier across the shipping canal that links Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/us/vast-defenses-now-shielding-new-orleans.html?pagewanted=all

Dauphin County Damage From Tropical Storm Lee Tops $150 Million

The latest damage estimate from Tropical Storm Lee has topped $150 million in Dauphin County!

• 294 homes and businesses were destroyed

• 1,039 structures sustained major damage

• 1,265 structures had minor damage

• Over $800,000 worth of crops were also destroyed

Montgomery County Residents Eligible For FEMA Assistance After Irene

Montgomery County residents are eligible to receive Individual Assistance for damage that occurred as a result of Hurricane Irene now that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has added the County to its Major Disaster Declaration.

Uninsured and under-insured homeowners, renters and businesses are eligible to receive grants for temporary housing, home repair, home replacement and permanent housing construction…

Click here for details: http://www.timesherald.com/articles/2011/09/14/news/doc4e70f50da6a8b085684529.txt

 

Grim Report On Pennsylvania Damages From Tropical Storm Lee

The latest estimate on the number of homes damaged or destroyed in Pennsylvania, by Tropical Storm Lee, is 4,500.  This number is likely to rise as 4,500 is a preliminary estimate.

19 counties were declared disaster areas by President Obama and are eligible for federal disaster relief aid.

Susquehanna River Reaches 38.82 Feet In Wilkes-Barre

Image via Wikipedia

The Susquehanna River had topped out at 38.82 feet in Wilkes-Barre just before 1 a.m. this morning.  By 3:30 a.m. the National Weather Service declared the river had crested just under 39 feet.  An earlier prediction was for a crest of 41 feet.

Unprotected areas like West Pittston, Jenkins Township, West Nanticoke and Shickshinny experienced major flooding.

In Duryea there was a partial levee breach that sent 200 people from their homes to an emergency shelter at Sacred Heart Church Thursday evening.

Wilkes-Barre Mayor, Tom Leighton has just issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Brookside Section of the city due to rising water on the streets.