Date: Thursday, September 16, 1999
AREA BRACED FOR FLOYD'S FURY * WEATHERMEN WARN STORM COULD SOCK IT TO VALLEY. BUT
OFFICIALS SAY THEY'RE READY.
By JEFF GELMAN, The Morning Call
Staff writers Chris Parker, Lisa Kozleski, Katie Wang
and Tom Davis and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Throw on your raincoat and hold onto your hat because Hurricane Floyd is tearing up the coast
to whip the Lehigh Valley today. Area schools, utilities and emergency services are preparing
for what is now one of the worst storms of the century. Already, Wednesday's driving rain caused
numerous car accidents due to slick roads. At least one school district said that should the
storm turn too furious, too fast today, it is prepared to keep its students until roads are
clear.
All this mayhem and the area is only expected to feel the outer fury of the hurricane.
Forecasters are predicting for today winds between 25 and 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph.
Rains that started Wednesday will have dumped between 5 and 9 or more inches of water by early
Friday, when the storm is expected to fizzle, according to the National Weather Service late
Wednesday. Floyd was down to a Category 3 hurricane, with winds of 115 mph, as of Wednesday
evening and probably will weaken to tropical storm status by the time its center reaches just
west of Atlantic City, N.J., about 2 a.m. Friday. "It's been gradually weakening all day,"
said NWS meteorologist Al Cope said Wednesday.
The worst of the weather should appear this afternoon and evening, Cope said. "Friday may
actually turn out to be a fairly decent day," said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe
Miketta. On Wednesday, a flash-flood watch and high-wind advisory were issued for eastern
Pennsylvania. "Floods are the number one hazard in the commonwealth and we're second to Alaska
when it comes to miles of running water," said Marko Bourne, spokesman for the Pennsylvania
Emergency Management Agency. "With enough rain, we have a lot of unnamed creeks and streams
that have the potential for flash floods."
Retired National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Giannetta of Bath advised those residents
living near streams or small creeks to keep an eye on them. Ten inches of rain can turn a
babbling brook into a roaring monster," he said. "The water comes up awful quick.
If I lived near a creek, I wouldn't sleep tonight." If the Valley drinks in 12 inches of rain,
that would more than overcome Lehigh County's water deficit, which is 6.9 inches for the year
through August.
But rainfall is only one of five measures Gov. Tom Ridge must examine before he decides to lift
the drought conditions. Emergency officials are urging residents to use common sense in the wake
of possible heavy winds and flash floods. "Our advice is to know what to do to be prepared,"
said Carla Hickey, spokeswoman for the Lehigh Valley chapter of the Red Cross. She said the
office has been deluged with phone calls from concerned residents. Red Cross volunteers are
ready to set up emergency shelters, she said. PP&L has asked utility companies in western
Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York for assistance in case of massive power outages for the
approximate 250,000 customers in the Lehigh Valley region, said spokesman Jim Burns.
"Everyone has indicated they will help," he said. "We're prepared to deal with whatever comes
our way." Workers for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spent much of Wednesday
checking drainage inlets and removing debris so water can more easily flow off the roads.
Safety spokesman Ronald J. Young said one of the most vulnerable roads in the region is River
Road, which runs the length of Bucks County into Northampton County. "Because it's tree-lined
and exposed to the Delaware River ... it's especially susceptible to flooding," he said.
Young advised motorists to take extra time driving in the extreme weather, check windshield
wipers before leaving, allow extra space between other vehicles on the road and drive with
headlights on. Curt Fauerbach, operations officer for Northampton County Emergency Management
Agency, said his office is most concerned about flooding. "In general, our operation would move
people out of the flood-prone areas and provide shelters." Carbon County acting Emergency
Management Coordinator Carl Merluzzi said he doesn't anticipate any major flooding because
rivers are low due to the drought. "But there could be some flash flooding on roads near
streams." Merluzzi is keeping a close eye on the Mahoning Creek near Route 443 in Mahoning
Township, and the Lizard Creek along Route 895 in East Penn Township.
"Those are the ones that usually flood over," he said. "The (communication) center sent out a
flash flood watch and local police will be on alert." In Schuylkill County, Emergency Management
Operations and Training Officer Michael Cadau said his crew is monitoring weather reports to
track the storm. "We have contingency plans in place," he said. "This is a pretty big storm,
so we are monitoring rain gauges throughout the county and looking at past trouble spots to
figure which creeks and streams are liable to flood." Many area school districts on Wednesday
were taking a wait-and-see approach to the storm.
"I'm not hearing anything that leads me to believe we couldn't have school (Thursday) unless
we get local flooding that gets really bad and I'm not anticipating that," said Parkland School
District Superintendent Gary McCartney. Children in the Pennridge School District in Bucks
County were sent home Wednesday afternoon with notes warning there might be early dismissal
today should Floyd live up to his reputation. It's happened once before, when we had a phone
call from police saying roads were flooding and we should dismiss school if we want to get the
youngsters home," said Superintendent Robert S. Kish.
Kish said if the weather turns too tumultuous too quickly, preventing a safe return home by bus,
the district is prepared to keep the children at school until the roads are safe.
Bernadette Meck, superintendent of the Easton Area School District, said she plans to
"treat the day like a snow day." "We're prepared for just about anything," said Jim Scanlon,
superintendent of the Quakertown Community School District. "We've spent part of the day working
with principals and staff to review their weather preparedness emergency plans." Scanlon said
he plans to monitor weather reports throughout the day and stay in touch with other Upper Bucks
superintendents in case any cooperative efforts are needed to ensure the safety of students.
Superintendents in the Palmerton, Lehighton, Panther Valley, Jim Thorpe, Weatherly and Tamaqua
school districts and the Carbon County Vocational-Technical School were watching the weather and
waiting Wednesday afternoon before deciding whether to close schools.
"We're keeping up with weather reports and taking a wait-and-see stance right now,"
said Lehighton Superintendent Robert Klucharich. "We're keeping our fingers crossed."
"WEATHER BY GIANNETTA"