Flash Flood — Luzerne, Pennsylvania

2006-06-27 to 2006-06-28 · near Countywide, Luzerne, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

Additional heavy rain fell Tuesday the 27th through early Wednesday morning the 28th across Luzerne County and the Poconos on top of what fell on Monday as a front moved east across Pennsylvania and combined with low pressure and tropical moisture. This additional rainfall brought three day rainfall totals between 6 and 10 inches in Luzerne County, sending most streams and creeks over their banks in what would be deemed the worst flash flooding this county has experienced since Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Many people remarked that this storm reminded them of the Agnes Floods of 1972. The flash flooding lasted until Wednesday and affected over 1000 homes of which 33 had major damage. Two businesses were destroyed with over 150 roads damaged by flood waters. Over 100 people had to be rescued. Twenty five bridges were destroyed with over 50 damaged. At least 26 million dollars worth of damage was done to roadways with up to 100 million dollars of damage reported from flooding in the county. Hardest hit areas were Plains, Plymouth, Schickshinny, Dallas, Jackson township, West Wyoming, and Luzerne townships. Toby's Creek was among one of the creeks that experienced the most significant flooding. During the day Wednesday, concerns shifted from the flash flooding on the small streams to the Susquehanna River which was projected to rise close to the top of the levee in the city of Wilkes Barre. This prompted city and county officials to order 200,000 people to evacuate Wilkes Barre. Fortunately the levee held and there were no significant problems in the City Proper. Tragically, three people died from the floods in Luzerne county.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5519039. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.