SHENANGO VALLEY Heavy rain causes flooding, power loss

Hermitage firefighters rescued a woman stranded by rising water on Route 18.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The Keystone Blind Association got about a foot of water in its building at 12 Dayton Way in a brief but heavy rainstorm that passed through the Shenango Valley.
The storm hit about 3 p.m. Sunday, dumping between one and two inches of water in a span of about 45 minutes, which flooded streets and intersections.
In Hermitage, police said firefighters rescued a woman trapped in deep water at the intersection of Lamor Road and state Route 18.
Woman wasn't hurt
The victim, who wasn't identified, became stranded when water rose to the hood of her car. Police said she wasn't hurt but was taken to a local hospital for examination.
Jonathan Fister, president and chief executive officer of Keystone Blind Association, said water running off Dayton Way flooded his agency's operations in a building there.
It was the third time in three years, he said, adding that this time, the agency was prepared.
The Blind Association got flood insurance after the first flooding and had a $100,000 loss covered by insurance last year, he said.
This time, the water got higher than before but nothing is left stored on the floor of the building anymore. It's all placed on pallets out of harm's way, Fister said.
Still, he expects the damage to reach $40,000 to $50,000.
Lost power
Randy Coleman, local Penn Power manager, said about 1,800 Mercer County customers lost electrical service in the storm, largely because of high winds. About 600 of them still were without service this morning, he said.
The outages followed a Friday afternoon storm that affected about 6,500 customers, Coleman said. Some of those same people were victims again Sunday, he said.
Hermitage Police Chief Ed Stanton said a portion of Lamor Road that dips down over Pine Hollow Run just west of the Route 18 intersection was also closed as the creek overflowed and covered the road with several feet of water.
The Route 18-Lamor Road intersection was closed for several hours until the water receded and the debris left behind was cleaned up, he said.
Sharon authorities reported flooding at several intersections in the city, including Sharpsville Avenue at Connelly Boulevard and East State Street at Buhl Farm Drive as storm sewers were unable to handle the deluge.
Greenville police said five streets were closed, four because of high water and one because a branch fell across a power line, sparking a small fire.
Jim Thompson, Mercer County emergency services director, said there was sporadic flooding around the county but nothing life-threatening.
Some basement level apartments on Carrie Way in Grove City were flooded, forcing tenants to seek other shelter until the damage can be repaired, he said.