Cloudburst storms kill 4 in Pittsburgh- 3 inches of rain fall in one hour, roads explode

August 20, 2011 – PITTSBURGH, PA – A pair of powerful storms that pounded Pittsburgh on Friday cut electricity to hospitals and universities and submerged several vehicles in a flash flood that killed three people. Authorities said they were searching for other possible victims in the city’s Highland Park neighborhood, where muddy cars remained stranded on Washington Boulevard after the water had receded into the Allegheny River. Rescue crews used inflatable boats to reach marooned drivers, some of whom said the water rose 6 feet and covered their vehicles. Some drivers swam to safety; Rhodearland “Bob” Bailey, 79, of Penn Hills, was rescued from the roof of his car. “I can swim a little bit and was looking at a tree branch,” Bailey told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I heard one woman yelling for help, but the water was coming down so fast, I couldn’t see. … I’ve never seen nothing like this in my life. Lord have mercy.” The flooding occurred in the late afternoon after the city was drenched with up to 3 inches of rain in an hour, the National Weather Service reported. The three victims, whose names were not released, were found in the same minivan, according to KDKA-TV. Emergency officials said a fourth person was missing, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Tara Howes, 34, of Gibsonia, told the Tribune-Review that “manhole covers started popping up and it looked like the road exploded and the waters came up really fast. I saw people swimming on the sides of the road. It was pretty scary.” The flash floods hit an area that experienced serious flooding last month. Claudia Gallagher, 55, of West Mifflin, was driving north on Washington Boulevard at the height of rainfall and tried to get off the road as the water rose. –USA Today

contribution Warren/ Megan