STATE COLLEGE – AccuWeather.com reported the National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that the gauge along the Susquehanna River at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., broke Thursday night and that the river actually crested at 42.66 feet.
This beats the record flood stage of 40.9 feet set by Agnes in 1972, making it the highest crest in the city’s history.
The previous estimate for the crest was just above 38 feet.
The levee at Wilkes-Barre is designed to handle water levels only up to 41 feet. Some residents have already returned to their homes and are in danger.
Hundreds of homes and businesses have been overwhelmed by flood waters in Wilkes-Barre alone.
President Obama declared 42 counties in Pennsylvania and 15 counties in New York as federal disaster areas early Friday morning as a result of the flooding from Lee.
FEMA can now coordinate all disaster relief efforts for flooded areas along the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
The thousands of residents evacuated from Wilkes-Barre and other communities in Pennsylvania and New York on Thursday may not be able to return until Saturday at the earliest. The flood waters of the Susquehanna will be very slow to recede, especially with rounds of showers and thunderstorms persisting over the next couple of days.
Record crests along the Susquehanna were also set on Thursday at Binghamton and Owego, N.Y., as well as Meshoppen, Pa. Fifteen counties in New York have been declared a disaster.
Crests are following farther downstream from Wilkes-Barre along the Susquehanna. Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski has more details on the crests and comparisons to the record flood stages of Agnes.
Bridges, levees and dams will continue to be strained by the flood waters, whether still rising or slowly receding, raising fears for residents that have not yet been impacted by the flooding.
AccuWeather.com Founder and President, Dr. Joel N. Myers, told Sosnowski, “This is a record flood in many areas and people should expect the unexpected.”
Travel nightmares will continue across the Northeast with flood waters forcing the closure of hundreds of roads across the Northeast, including heavily traveled highways such as I-76, I-80, I-81 and Route 322.
By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com