Storms lead to ‘widespread’ flooding in Washington area
Cameron Stadium evacuated during W&J football game
A torrential downpour Saturday afternoon led to “widespread” flooding in the Washington area and even caused the suspension of Washington & Jefferson College’s football game as water poured into the stadium and forced its evacuation.
The notoriously flood-prone area of Park Avenue in Washington was submerged once again and impassable after thunderstorms descended on the area about 2:30 p.m. and forced a stoppage in play as water flowed into Cameron Stadium.
The flooding forced both fans and players to leave the stadium, and they could be seen trudging through knee-high water as they walked back to their cars. Police officers and emergency responders wearing swift-water rescue gear were helping to escort people from the stadium.
The game was suspended at halftime due to lighting and the ensuing rain with W&J getting the win over Keystone College by a score of 42-0.
“Any time there is a large crowd like that at any event, there’s always a concern when something like that happens,” Washington County Public Safety Director Gerry Coleman said. “I believe with the timing (during the lightning suspension attendance) was limited with the number of fans. Not that you wanted to walk through that water, but it wasn’t swift water. But you don’t want to see the fans go through that.”
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a flash flood warning for central part of Washington County, and a county 911 dispatch supervisor said the flooding was “widespread” in the Washington area.
“It seems to be the norm right now,” Coleman said of the severe weather.
Washington Mayor Jojo Burgess declared a state of emergency in the city over the next five days “due to the extraordinary rainfall and weather conditions” that brought the potential for damage to property.
Burgess said Catfish Creek next to Cameron Stadium turned into “Catfish River” as it overflowed its banks and flooded the field and neighboring Chapman Corporation’s parking lot. He said other areas of the city were hit hard, including Jefferson at Wylie avenues where stormwater drains were so saturated that water was gushing from manholes “like Old Faithful” spraying onto the roads.
“You could see the water getting into the drains and the water just shooting up in the air,” Burgess said.
One car was submerged up to its windows on Jefferson Avenue near Jollick Manor, and crews rescued the driver from her vehicle. Burgess said city and Canton Township firefighters were out and about in the area blocking streets and helping pump out flooded basements, although most main roads were reopened by 5 p.m. as the water receded.
“It hit so fast,” Burgess said of Saturday afternoon’s storm. “I’ve never seen it like that before. It was quick and fast.”
Elsewhere in Washington County, photos on social media showed a car submerged nearly to its roof on Manifold Road in South Strabane. Other photos and videos showed heavy flooding elsewhere in South Strabane around the Route 19 corridor, along with many areas in North Strabane.
Coleman said the parking lot at the South Strabane Fire Department’s location on Oak Spring Road sustained “severe damage” and a sinkhole opened up behind the building. Still, Coleman was thankful that the continued rounds of severe weather in recent months have not led to any deaths or serious injuries.
“Our folks in the field, they do a great job every day,” Coleman said of first responders. “Especially the way the weather has been this year, there has been no loss of life, and that’s a testament to them.”