Woman rescued from submerged car near Brownsville
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Rescuers were called about 7 a.m. Monday for two vehicles that were stuck in high water as Redstone Creek overflowed its banks onto Brownsville Road near the Albany Tunnel about a mile north of Brownsville.
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Pigeon Creek spilled its banks Monday in Monongahela, closing Park Avenue at Peno’s Plaza.
BROWNSVILLE – A motorist had to be rescued Monday morning when she attempted to drive across a flooded road near Brownsville and her car quickly became submerged under water.
Rescuers were called about 7 a.m. for two vehicles that were stuck in high water as Redstone Creek overflowed its banks onto Brownsville Road near the Albany Tunnel about a mile north of Brownsville, according to Fayette County Emergency Management spokeswoman Susan Griffith.
One driver was able to escape, while a female motorist had to wait until a water rescue team from the Brownsville Fire Company was able to pull her to safety shortly after 8 a.m., Griffith said. The woman’s name and whether she was injured were not released.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Only the roof of an SUV submerged in the Albany Tunnel was above the water, while the trunk of another vehicle was all that could be seen Monday afternoon as the creek covered a large swath of Brownsville Road.
Only the roof of an SUV submerged in the tunnel was above the water, while the trunk of the other vehicle was all that could be seen as the creek covered a large swath of the road. Albany and Brownsville roads remained closed Monday as responders planned to wait until the water receded to pull the vehicles from the water.
Griffith said emergency crews were also keeping an eye on the Monongahela River near Point Marion, which reached “moderate” flood level of nearly 27 feet about 1 p.m. Monday. But there were concerns the river could continue rising and crest at around 28 feet, which is the threshold for a “major” flood.
“We’ll continue to monitor and offer any resources and keep everyone alert. Those guys – the boots on the ground – are watching things and monitoring things,” Griffith said. “It’s a little higher than they anticipated. As of this time, they have no unmet needs and if there is we’ll accommodate them.”
A member of the Point Marion Volunteer Fire Department said firefighters pumped one home’s basement in the borough Monday morning, but they felt they were prepared to handle whatever additional flooding may come later in the evening.
Jared Rackley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said a couple rounds of rain showers over the weekend dropped close to two inches of rain in some areas. That, coupled with melting snow, caused creeks and rivers across the region to rise.
“We had some of the snow pack in the higher elevations that also melted with some of the rain,” Rackley said. “It really started to fill up the rivers, and we had reports of the streams coming over their banks and flowing over roads.”
Forecasters were unsure whether the Monongahela River would reach major flood stage in southern Fayette and Greene counties.
“It’s starting to level off, so that’s good news,” Rackley said.
Greene County Emergency Management officials said they had few problems Monday, although they were continuing to monitor the water levels along the Monongahela River on their side of the county across from Point Marion.
Minor flooding was also reported on the Youghiogheny River in Connellsville and at the Monongahela River locks and dams in Charleroi and Elizabeth, according to National Weather Service hydrology charts. In the city of Monongahela, Pigeon Creek spilled its banks Monday afternoon, closing Park Avenue at Peno’s Plaza.