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BELLEFONTE -- Wednesday's heavy rains prompted the Centre County Board of Commissioners to approve a countywide declaration of disaster emergency because of flooding throughout the Centre Region.
The declaration came during an emergency session on Thursday afternoon.
"The heavy rains and flooding has endangered the health, safety and welfare of a substantial number of persons residing in Centre County and threatens to create problems greater in scope than Centre County may be able to resolve," the declaration states.
The declaration directs Centre County Emergency Management Coordinator Jeffrey Wharran "to coordinate the activities of the emergency response, to take all appropriate action needed to alleviate the effects of this disaster, to aid in the restoration of essential public services, and to take any other emergency response action deemed necessary to respond to this disaster emergency."
"Communities in eastern Centre County saw record rainfall. The rain came hard and fast," said Michael Pipe, chair of the Centre County Board of Commissioners. "…The commissioners approved a Disaster Declaration to coordinate resources and access state and federal funds and assets. Our Emergency Management Team is on the front lines of the response and will continue to be until further notice."
A declaration of disaster emergency can allow the county to seek state or federal assistance if needed and to enact emergency response plans.
The Penns Valley area was hit hard by the rain, with more than five inches recorded in some areas, according to AccuWeather.com and the National Weather Service. Creeks in the area continued to rise after the rain subsided, flooding into streets and impacting homes.
Elk Creek overflowed by Thursday morning, causing road closures. The water level reached the the underside of a bridge along state Route 45 in Millheim. The flooding caused a road closure between state Route 445 (North Street) near Madisonburg and state Route 235 near Hartleton in Union County. PennDOT was scheduled to perform an inspection of the bridge before reopening the highway yesterday morning.
State Route 2011 (Penn Street) was also closed between Water Street and Coburn.
State Route 445 between state Route 45 and state Route 192 and between state Route 192 and state Route 64 was closed but has since reopened.
According to AccuWeather.com and the National Weather Service, Aaronsburg recorded 5.42 inches of rain from the storm, while Poe Valley State Park had 5.28 inches and Spring Mills had 4.5 inches.
The Penns Valley Area High School and the Old Gregg School are acting as emergency shelters.
"The people who call Penns Valley home are resourceful, resilient and compassionate," Pipe said. "Neighbors are helping neighbors and local governments are assisting any way we can."
Centre County Government is assisting with resources people might need, like generators, water and food. The Red Cross will also be involved in these efforts.