Yesterday was a day of sweat-soaked, mud-streaked emotion as Western Pennsylvanians surveyed the wreckage of Ivan and continued what was certain to be a long and arduous recovery.

John Beale, Post-Gazette Jim Callender hangs the American flag yesterday in front of his parents' home on Davidson Street in Tarentum. The Callenders lost nearly everything and they have no flood insurance, but they fared better than some of their neighbors whose homes were destroyed. Click photo for larger image. More coverage Much of region declared federal disaster area Graphic: Municipal emergencies Region's sewer, water, road and electric systems took a beating from floodwaters Where to get or give help in response to the flooding Photo Journal, Sept. 20: Flooding aftermath Photo Journal, Sept. 19: High water everywhere Photo Journal, Sept. 18: Ivan's rain deluges Western Pennsylvania

The region had ample warning as remnants of the powerful hurricane churned slowly north from the Gulf of Mexico; virtually no one was surprised and yet no one could have fully prepared for the havoc the storm brought or the ruin it left behind.

"Everything we have is destroyed," said a tearful Joe Bonifate, owner of a flooded-out pizzeria in Oakmont.

"There are whole households piled up on the street," said Kim Lowder of South Fayette, as her parents and their neighbors hauled damaged appliances, furniture and other belongings to the curb in the township's flood-ravaged Cuddy section.

Under a sunny sky, volunteer firefighters, public works crews, victims and their friends and relatives fanned out in scores of devastated communities yesterday to pump out basements, clean up mudslides, cut up downed trees and scrub floors and walls.

"We're working nonstop," said Lowder, whose parents' home of 52 years was among 15 or so inundated by the overflow of Millers Run. "Thank God for friends. They don't ask. They just give."

Many if not most victims of Ivan-induced flooding lacked flood insurance. Bonifate's friends were organizing a fund drive yesterday; he lost an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 of restaurant equipment.

Mike Greiser, assistant chief of Freeport's volunteer fire department in Armstrong County, finally went home Saturday afternoon after 24 hours of virtually ceaseless emergencies. His home had 3 feet of water in it. He has flood insurance, but it doesn't cover the big screen TV, computer, leather furniture, furnace, washer and dryer and other items that were ruined.

"I'm at least $15,000 to $20,000 down," he said.

Chaos

Weather forecasters gave local authorities conflicting estimates of what Ivan would bring. "Depending on who you listened to, we were getting anywhere from an inch and a half to 6 inches [of rain]," Greiser said. "We were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best."

Pittsburgh Public Works Director Guy Costa sized up forecasts that ranged from 2 to 8 inches of rain and flooding of varying degrees and tried to do what he could. He dispatched crews to clean catch basins in flood-prone areas and moved heavy equipment from low-lying areas.

Then, early Friday afternoon, after hours of soaking rains, all hell broke loose.

Around 2 p.m., Greiser's department got a call for trees down on Route 356 south of Freeport. Typically, that's PennDOT's problem but not on this day. With fire crews clearing the trees, Greiser watched as the cloverleaf at Route 356 and Freeport Road was submerged.

"We actually physically watched the roads flood over," he said. "That's when it dawned on us that this was not a normal storm."

In Cuddy, firefighters carried Ellen Cramer from her home on South Fayette Street through 3 feet of water and moved her to South Fayette High School.

At around the same time, Costa got a call about a torrent threatening houses in Woods Run, one of the areas his crews had cleaned up in anticipation of the storm. Wind and rain had quickly brought down enough limbs and debris to block a storm drain and negate the effort.

In short order, Mifflin Road in Hays was blocked by falling trees and sliding mud; a hillside melted onto Bigelow Boulevard, blocking it; reports came in of people trapped in submerged cars at Routes 51 and 88 in the South Hills; hillsides gave way on Noblestown Road in the city's western fringe and on South 18th Street, South Side.

"It seemed like every neighborhood was having some sort of problem. It was just call after call. It was scary," Costa said.

In Oakmont, Bonifate watched Plum Street turn into a rushing river. When passing cars started sending waves crashing against his pizza shop, he rushed out with a co-worker to block off the street and warn motorists it was unsafe.

Within 20 minutes, the water was hip high and swift enough to knock Bonifate off his feet. Workers at Fortino's Pizzeria propped old wooden doors against the glass entry to try to keep it from exploding inward.

People in neighboring houses rushed to move belongings up or out, "but it just came up so fast," Bonifate said. The water lifted a Ford Mustang and sent it drifting.

When a power line dropped into the flood water, Bonifate rushed back to his store and eventually fled through a window.

In Freeport, Greiser's department was called to bring boats to neighboring South Buffalo to rescue trapped homeowners. Flooded streets blocked their fire trucks. Eventually, all of Freeport was cut off by flood waters.

Shortly after 5 p.m., firefighters in Tarentum were summoned to the Davidson Street area to evacuate or assist residents in about 50 homes near Bull Creek.

"The people in the houses, some of them were pretty elderly. We helped them upstairs. Some came out onto their roofs ... We called for a chopper but the pilot couldn't get to his helicopter," said Assistant Fire Chief Dave Gould.

Rescue boats finally arrived from a neighboring department to pluck residents from rooftops and windows.

The relentless rain flooded highways and side streets throughout the region, even submerging a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Eighteen people, including the police chief, were rescued from a bridge in Carnegie that was surrounded by water from flooding Chartiers Creek.

Carnegie Volunteer Fire Department's 1-year-old firehouse on West Main Street flooded with 4 feet of water. A tower fire truck was disabled and an ambulance floated away.

Heather Demsher, a paramedic with the department for seven years, said everything in the building was damaged, from personal effects and fire equipment to computers and a Santa suit. Even Demsher's paycheck floated away. Even worse, she lost more than 30 years worth of files she had been saving to write a history of the department.

Rescues and evacuations continued through the night and into early Saturday morning. As Freeport firefighters moved through low-lying streets, warning of impending flooding from out-of-control Buffalo Creek, one man said he wasn't leaving.

"I rode Agnes out," he told Greiser, referring to a 1972 flood spawned by remnants of a tropical storm. "I'll ride this one out."

Greiser helped evacuate a senior citizens' high-rise at 4 a.m. Saturday and then helped the residents return later Saturday afternoon before calling it a day.

He needed hip waders to enter his home.

Dry taps

Tens of thousands of South Hills and Mon Valley residents were without water or had low water pressure on Saturday.

Power outages at Pennsylvania-American Water Co.'s treatment plants in Baldwin and Washington County caused pumps to be shut down and the company's transmission lines and storage tanks eventually were depleted.

Things had improved by early yesterday. The plants were up and running early Saturday, but the company had to slowly restore its pumping operations to avoid blowing out water mains, and some customers still had low pressure or no water yesterday.

Philip Cynar, spokesman for Penn-American, said treatment plant crews worked 36 to 48 hours straight to get the water flowing again.

Adrift

As the rain fell Friday afternoon, a worried Dana Visnic telephoned Washington's Landing Marina, where she had docked her new 25-foot cabin cruiser. Employees there assured her the boats were secure.

On Saturday, as she made her way to Heinz Field for the University of Pittsburgh football game, Visnic saw boats careening down the Allegheny River. She called the marina and heard a recorded message that most of the docks and boats there had washed away.

Then she looked out from the stadium and saw her boat and others, still affixed to their dock, floating downriver. The boats drifted into Point State Park and wedged there against a building.

Unlike other Ivan victims, Visnic, who co-owns the boat with her sister, Holly Pelusi, was insured.

"We're keeping things in perspective," she said. "There were so many people who lost their homes and have things so much worse. We were very fortunate."

The cleanup

Costa said public works crews spent yesterday cleaning up mud and debris in Point State Park. Owners of several boats that washed into the park won't be able to retrieve them until Wednesday at the earliest.

At the pizzeria, Bonifate has spent two days scraping out mud, discarding spoiled food and trying to see if any of his equipment can be salvaged. He was effusive in his praise for Oakmont and Verona volunteer firefighters who spent hours helping him and others start to recover.

"These guys can eat for free for the rest of their lives," he said.

He said he had no idea when or how he would reopen. "One way or another, I'll be back in business," he said. "I've got too many people who rely on me."

In Cuddy, Lowder had to scrape away 3 inches of mud to open the front door to her parents' home. Three sheds, two lawn mowers and an assortment of shovels were in the yard; her parents' shed was missing.

The mailbox was found three doors away, with the mail still inside.

Lowder's father, Meryl Cramer, arrived Saturday afternoon and sat in his truck, sobbing. "I've never seen my dad cry in 40 years," Lowder said.

She and about 10 friends and relatives spent two days scrubbing out the first floor and discarding ruined furnishings. Volunteer firefighters pumped out the basement yesterday and Lowder got teary while describing her gratitude for all the help.

She mourned the lost memories -- a half-century of her parents' personal effects, photo albums, a wedding dress and other keepsakes -- ruined by flood water, hauled to the curb, forever replaced by the sour memories brought by Ivan.

"It's just like everything else in life," she said. "We'll get through."