Flash floods submerged more than a dozen vehicles in Pittsburgh, killed two women and two children and forced people to swim to safety or scramble onto the roofs of their cars. A pair of storms pounded the city Friday, overwhelming the drainage system and causing manhole covers to pop off the road, officials said.
Water rose to 9 feet in some places along Washington Boulevard, a main road that runs near the Allegheny River. Rescue crews used inflatable boats to reach marooned drivers, though some swam to safety on their own. Rhodearland "Bob" Bailey of Penn Hills, who is about 80, was rescued from the roof of his car.
He said he heard a woman yelling for help but couldn't see anything because the water was coming down so fast, he told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I've never seen nothing like this in my life," he said. "Lord have mercy." Rihaan Gangat, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said 2.1 inches (5.3 centimeters) of rain fell in an hour during the evening rush. But an earlier storm meant the region was drenched by 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 centimeters) of rain overall on Friday.
The area's topography lends itself to flooding. The low-lying area was apparently once a creek bed and "the watershed is huge for this," said Raymond DeMichiei, deputy director of the city Office of Emergency Management. Hills line both sides of the section of Washington Boulevard that flooded, making it almost like a valley running between them. To the west is Highland Park, one of the highest spots in Pittsburgh. The boulevard slopes down to the north toward the Allegheny River. So when rains hit, water comes rushing in from three directions. Still, this was "a little bit more spectacular than usual," DeMichiei said.
Near noon Saturday, there were still traffic lights out in the area. "We had cars fully covered and we didn't know they were there," DeMichiei said. One man appeared to be standing in waist-deep water, and it wasn't until crews reached him that they realised "he was standing on his SUV," he said.
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