2 counties declare disaster after Pennsylvania flooding

HARRISBURG, PA. » State emergency officials are working with local authorities to help with recovery from flash flooding in south-central Pennsylvania that led to water rescues and evacuations and prompted two counties to issue disaster declarations, Gov. Tom Wolf said.

“Yesterday, Pennsylvania experienced significant flash flooding that impacted roads, bridges, homes and critical infrastructure,” Wolf said Saturday. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency “will work with local municipalities to develop damage assessments and address unmet needs. We continue to urge Pennsylvanians to monitor driving conditions to stay safe this weekend.”

The emergency management agency earlier said Lancaster and York counties had issued disaster declarations. Wolf said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is deploying road construction crews, engineers, and inspectors to assist local municipalities.

The National Weather Service said rains brought 5 to 10 inches of rain to parts of Lancaster, York and Lebanon County. An emergency management agency spokeswoman says evacuations were reported in Lancaster, York, Berks and Chester counties. No injuries have been reported.

LNP newspaper reports that Lancaster County emergency officials received numerous calls for stranded motorists, including a school bus stuck in Mount Joy and a vehicle swept into a creek. No injuries were reported.

“It was a lot of rushing water really quick,” Danielle Krodel, of Elizabethtown, who had to turn back because of flooding on Route 283, told LNP. “There was no warning whatsoever.”

Charlene Campbell, trapped by flooded roads in her own York restaurant, The Accomac, said she had never seen anything like it.

“Horror, it’s just horror,” Campbell told WHTM-TV. “Not only to mention the loss of business, but it’s just scary to see what the force of water can do.”

An eastbound Amtrak train that left Harrisburg was stranded for 6½ hours due to flooding in Mount Joy, where forecasters said almost 11 inches of rain was reported.

Amtrak Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian trains operated on a modified schedule Friday and Saturday due to the weatherrelated issues but said all scheduled service would be resumed Sunday. Keystone Service trains operate daily between New York and Harrisburg, and Pennsylvania trains operate daily between New York and Pittsburgh.

ANDY BLACKBURN — LNP — LANCASTERONLINE VIA AP A truck and a school bus go through high water during heavy rain, Friday near Manheim, Pa. A band of unusually heavy rain Friday afternoon over a swath of south central Pennsylvania closed roads and stranded vehicles on one of the busiest travel days of the year.