(The Center Square) – Severe weather pummeled all but three of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties over the holiday weekend, killing three and leaving roughly 105,000 residents still without power on Monday.
Gov. Josh Shapiro was joined by Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield and PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll to discuss the aftermath of strong winds, torrential rainfall and localized flooding, and promised to help the public assess the damage.
“Over the last several days, we have had severe storms that have hit nearly every part of our Commonwealth,” Shapiro said. “We’ve had significant impacts in southcentral, southeastern Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley.”
Pike County recorded the most rainfall at 7 inches, while power outages in Lancaster County were still extensive. Shapiro noted, however, that outages are “significantly decreasing” over the last 12 hours and that state officials expect that the “crux of the damage” is behind us.
Padfield noted that there were concerns about flash flooding throughout Monday, as well as heavy rain and isolated events, and offered advice to those who have been impacted by the storms.
“Anyone who sustained damage to their property or vehicles should start off by documenting that information and contacting their insurance company,” Padfield said. “That is usually the best first action for them to do.”
“They can also report their damages to their county emergency management agency or their municipal emergency management coordinator in their local municipality or borough,” he added.
PEMA is working with counties and municipalities to assess the storm damage, Padfield said, to determine which programs can be utilized. However, he cautioned that federal assistance depends on the extent of the costs.
Carroll said that over the weekend, Pennsylvania experienced 200 road closures due to the severe weather. As of earlier today, 75 of those roads remained closed. He said coordination is ongoing and PennDOT is expected to see “significant improvements” to reopening those roads in the next couple of days.
Damage assessments will take place over the next few days, although Shapiro said he is not issuing a state disaster proclamation at this time.
Shapiro encouraged on social media for those in impacted areas to “continue to listen to your local officials, report outages to your utility, and follow @PEMAHQ for warnings and important updates.”
