Flooding leads 75 to flee homes

POLK, Pa. (AP) -- Flooding from heavy rains prompted the evacuation of about 75 residents, and officials were monitoring a dam leak.
The residents were moved Tuesday, some of them by boat, when flooding hit this small town about 30 miles east of Sharon, said Venango County Commissioner Larry Horn. No injuries were reported.
"We had warning of heavy rain, but it really hammered us," Horn said. "We were pretty surprised."
A water treatment plant in nearby Franklin also flooded, leaking between 7 million and 8 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Allegheny River. Officials were also monitoring Piffer Dam, a half-century old earthen dam that controls water flowing from a small lake into Sandy Creek and the Allegheny River.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was considering whether to use the dam's emergency spillway, said Dan Holler, DEP's northwest region emergency response program director.
The dam is classified as a "high hazard dam," which means its failure could affect a number of people, homes and businesses and cause damage, injuries and loss of life. The classification is based on location, topography and size, not age or condition, Holler said.
About 21/2 inches of rain fell around Polk between Monday morning and Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service said.
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