Ida's remnants close roads, prompt concerns of dam failure

MIAMI – Soaking rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida prompted the evacuations of thousands of radical Wednesday aft h2o reached unsafe levels astatine a dam adjacent Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

The tempest soaked overmuch of occidental and cardinal Pennsylvania aft precocious h2o drove immoderate from their homes successful Maryland and Virginia. The tempest killed a teenager, 2 radical were not accounted for and a tornado was believed to person touched down on the Chesapeake Bay successful Maryland.

Ida caused countless schoolhouse and concern closures successful Pennsylvania. About 150 roadways maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation were closed and galore smaller roadways besides were impassable. Some 18,000 customers were without power, including immoderate 12,000 successful cardinal Pennsylvania.

Some areas adjacent Johnstown, whose past includes respective deadly floods, saw 5 inches (I2.7 centimeters) oregon much of rainfall by midafternoon, an inundation that triggered an evacuation bid for those downstream from the Wilmore dam.

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Cambria County exigency absorption manager and 911 halfway caput Art Martynuska said the h2o level astatine the Wilmore dam reached a tallness that required evacuation.

Nearby Hinckston Run Dam was besides being monitored but appeared unchangeable by precocious afternoon, helium said, by which clip h2o levels astatine Wilmore dam were receding.

“If that inclination continues we'll beryllium allowing folks to instrumentality backmost to their residences shortly, hopefully by this evening,” Martynuska said.

Both dams were considered high-hazard dams that are apt to termination idiosyncratic were they to fail.

Evacuees were taken to a adjacent precocious schoolhouse with assistance from the Red Cross, National Guard, section transit authorization and schoolhouse proscription services, helium said.

The 1889 Johnstown flood killed 2,200 people, a catastrophe blamed connected mediocre attraction connected the South Fork Dam connected the Little Conemaugh River. It sent a 36-foot partition of h2o roaring into a populated country astatine 40 mph.

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The National Weather Service had predicted flooding from what remained of Hurricane Ida, saying steep terrain and adjacent metropolis streets were peculiarly susceptible to a set of terrible upwind that extended from the Appalachians into Massachusetts.

Flash flooding knocked astir 20 homes disconnected their foundations and washed respective trailers distant successful Virginia's mountainous occidental corner, wherever astir 50 radical were rescued and hundreds were evacuated. News outlets reported that 1 idiosyncratic was unaccounted for successful the tiny upland assemblage of Hurley.

Water had astir reached the ceilings of basement units erstwhile crews arrived astatine an flat analyzable successful Rockville, Maryland, connected Wednesday. A 19-year-old was recovered dead, different idiosyncratic was missing and astir 200 radical from 60 apartments adjacent Rock Creek were displaced, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said Wednesday.

“In galore years I person not seen circumstances similar this,” Goldstein said.

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Tropical Storm Larry was strengthening and moving rapidly westward aft forming disconnected the seashore of Africa earlier Wednesday. Forecasters predicted it would rapidly intensify successful a mode akin to Ida, becoming a large hurricane with apical upwind speeds of 120 mph (193 kph) by Saturday. Kate remained a tropical slump and was expected to weaken without threatening land.

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