First Estimates In – Dauphin County Damage Total From Lee

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The first official guesstimate of how much damage Tropical Storm Lee caused Dauphin County is in – and it is a large figure.  Not as large as the incinerator debt, but daunting nonetheless.

The magic number is $52.7 million worth of damage to commercial and residential properties in the county.  That is just one county out of MANY.  This storm will be very costly!

Harrisburg officials say they will need 60 days to come up with a number on how much they spent and the amount the city will be seeking in reimbursement from FEMA.

In other news, the National Guard will be pumping out basements in Shipoke since the city says it does not have the expertise or the manpower to do so.

Harrisburg Area Starting Massive Cleanup And Return Of Services

The Harrisburg area is starting to clean up and services are coming back online after the Great Flood of 2011.  The Susquehanna River is back under flood stage along with the Swatara Creek. 

Capital Area Transit services will resume on Monday.

Linda Thompson, Harrisburg‘s Mayor, is ending the curfew and state of emergency tonight at 9 p.m.  The mayor said she was pleased with Harriburg’s overall condition.

Amtrak service between Harrisburg and Lancaster is still out of commission today.  Still no word on train travel between the two cities for Monday.

There are still about 500 PPL customers in Shipoke, Midtown and Uptown without power.

City Island Parking is closed on Monday.

Central PA Flooding Claims Five Lives

Flood waters have claims five lives in the midstate and two people are missing.  Dauphin, York, Lancaster and Lebanon counties all reported deaths related to flooding.

Front Street in Harrisburg has flooded.  The Shipoke section of Harrisburg was evacuated along with the Governor’s Mansion.  Several blocks in Midtown had power shut off to force residents to evacuate.  An 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew has been issued by the mayor’s office.

The Susquehanna River at Harrisburg is predicted to crest at 26.5 feet at around 8 p.m. this evening.

Embattled Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson Threatening River Gawkers With Arrest

Harrisburg Mayor, Linda Thompson is threatening to arrest and fine gawkers who wander down to Front Street to take pictures and check out the Susquehanna River.  10,000 city residents from Front to Third Street are being evacuated and the mayor wants people to stay away from the river.

There are plenty of pictures online that you can check out here: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/09/curiosity_causes_people_to_hea.html

Harrisburg Under State of Emergency – Susquehanna To Crest At 26.2 Feet

Unlike Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg has no dike system in place.  The Susquehanna River is projected to crest at 26.2 feet or 9.2 feet above flood stage.  This will involve the evacuation of residential sections of the city (Shipoke, Front, Second, Green and Vaughn Streets).

Along with the City of Harrisburg, the Dauphin County Commissioners have declared a state of emergency.