Pittsburgh Mayor: City Preparing For Severe Weekend Flooding

PITTSBURGH, PA - Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto warned Thursday that the city could experience its worst flooding in nearly 15 years over the next few days.

With the National Weather Service predicting as much as four inches of rain through Sunday, Peduto stated on Twitter that the city is “preparing for severe flooding, (the) worst since Hurricane Ivan in 2004.”

“Conservative estimates have (the) Ohio River cresting Sunday night at 26 feet - could be more,” he stated. “Road surfaces/potholes will be washed away. Numerous landslides (are) expected.”

When the rivers reach 18 feet, the Mon Wharf parking area Downtown is closed. The 10th Street Bypass floods at 22 feet and the Point State Park fountain is flooded at 24.5 feet. The wharf, bypass and park experienced flooding last weekend.

In 2004, the remnants Hurricane Ivan dumped 5.9 inches of rain on Pittsburgh,which remains the single-day rain record for the city. Ivan’s flooding caused more than $264 million in damages to Allegheny County properties.

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