HARRISBURG, PA. -tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes in Pennsylvania were allowed to return Saturday as the Susquehanna retreated some flood waters higher never seen, inflated by remnants of the storm tropical Lee.
Other residents evacuated from cities of river in New York and Maryland were waiting for permission to return as damage flooding interviewed officials.
In Northeastern Pennsylvania, officials lifted an evacuation order Saturday afternoon to 60 000 70 000 residents in and around Wilkes-Barre. The rest would probably be able to return later Saturday and Sunday, said alfalfa County Emergency Management Agency Director Stephen Bekanich.
Level of the Susquehanna River had dropped to about 32 feet Saturday morning and was to be back within its banks about 29 feet, alfalfa County Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla said.
Bekanich estimated that damage was in the tens of millions - but could have been more than 3 billion if the levees had not occurred.
"Held dykes", said Bekanich. "Dykes executed beautifully."
Much of the northeast was still soggy Hurricane Irene and its consequences, a week earlier at the arrival of rains of Lee remains.
The Susquehanna River crested Thursday to near 42.7 feet to Wilkes-Barre, higher than the established record during catastrophic hurricane Agnes in 1972 and 25.7 feet in Binghamton, N.Y. The River reached a record of 15 years of 32.4 feet Friday to the Conowingo dam in northeastern Maryland.
At least 15 deaths were attributed to Lee and its aftermath: seven in Pennsylvania, three in Virginia, Maryland as a single and four other people killed when he came ashore on the Gulf Coast last week. Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett said Saturday Government officials had received reports of five deaths from the storm, but that the circumstances of these deaths had not been confirmed.
The President Barack Obama declared States of emergency in Pennsylvania and New York, opening the way with the Federal Government.
Mayor of Binghamton Matt Ryan said officials were working on the modification of evacuation orders issued in the flood areas so that people whose homes were flooded could perhaps back this weekend. Among the 20,000 inhabitants of the region evacuated Binghamton began Friday in return.
"We're going to redraw the lines to ensure that any person to back, he can go back so that they feel as they do something wrong,"said Ryan."
Ryan could not say when the orders would be lifted entirely, noting that the inspectors must verify all risks to the safety of flooded of gas and electricity.
Most of the 1,000 residents of the Port deposit, MD, told to evacuate due to flooding expected as early as the opening of the doors of the Conowingo dam flood to relieve pressure on the Susquehanna. Representatives of the County of Cecil will decide when residents can return after an assessment of the damage Saturday afternoon, spokesman Mike Dixon said.
"It will take some time," Dixon said assessment. "Utilities are disabled, there is a lot of contamination down there, so it is an important obstacle yet to be worked on."
Treatment of wastewater from the city is also out of service, said Dixon.
Flood waters had receded around noon of Main Street of Port deposit, which along the River, but still covered many areas. A large truck was in the street, providing water to spray teams the pavement of hardened mud.
Bill Herold, who owns The Susky River Grill, sweating in a T-shirt and shorts in front of a barrel of double smoking grill taken meals for people household in the city centre. He said that his restaurant of edge water is high enough to escape flooding.
"" We have lost our rear terrace and our beach area little we had. "."Just no power, said Herold. "For us, it's a loss of revenue, we that you know, but for all that we want to help people who are in the city, the people who remained, everyone tries to do something."
Hundreds more residents were urged to leave the Havre de Grace, MD., where the river empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Spokesman for the County of Harford Bob Thomas said that residents may be able to return home Saturday or Sunday.
At the Centre of Pennsylvania, a nighttime curfew remained in force in areas affected by the flood of Harrisburg. One person was arrested for looting, said Mayor Linda Thompson.
Ellie Martindale, a retired nurse who lived in the neighborhood of waterfront Shipoke Harrisburg for 30 years, was one of the first residents to return Saturday, as city officials ordered the evacuation Thursday.
Because his house is high, built over a garage on the first floor, Martindale said the damage was minimal - mainly mud washed in by approximately 4 feet of water from the river which ruined gypsum in driveways.
"The mud is on the floor and on any surface that might resolve," she said. "This is beautiful stuff." It clings. »
Martindale said she plans to stay in a hotel in downtown until his house is cleaned up - I hope more than a few days.
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