Crews from the Carnegie public works department today will be working to remove large piles of debris from a section of creek that overflowed and flooded basements, ate away backyards and brought down part of a garage during heavy rainfall on Saturday.

But that is just the first step toward correcting significant damage along the creek bed, where large sections of a retaining wall crumbed into the water.

The flooding and damage occurred during a roughly 30-minute period of heavy rain late Saturday afternoon, said Carnegie police Chief Jeff Harbin. The creek is an unnamed tributary to Chartiers Creek and the damage to the crumbling retaining walls occurred in a section that runs between Lexington Court and Run Street.

Oakdale also experienced weather-related problems Saturday when Clinton Avenue flooded, power went out and a handful of basements received water. But those problems were corrected within a matter of hours, said Oakdale Emergency Services Coordinator Robert Kolesky.

According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, about seven-tenths of an inch of rain fell at Pittsburgh International Airport between 4 and 5 p.m. Saturday.

While that was a significant amount of rain in one hour, it isn't necessarily enough to cause flooding, said weather service forecaster Tom Green. But, because of the rain the area received earlier in the week, the ground was saturated and not able to absorb it.

Mr. Green said so far this month, the area has received 3.33 inches of rain. During a normal June, the area receives 4.12 inches for the entire month, Mr. Green said. The next chance for rain will occur Tuesday night and into Wednesday, when there is a 50 percent chance for precipitation, Mr. Green said.

Chief Harbin and Carnegie Mayor Jack Kobistek, who surveyed the damage on Sunday, said borough officials plan to work quickly to try to get county, state or federal funding to help to restore the retaining walls and somehow reduce the flow into the creek.

"Something has to be done to keep the creek within its banks," Chief Harbin said.

Both officials said they believe the creek has been receiving significantly more water runoff since the development of the Settler's Ridge Shopping Center in Robinson.

"The residents said this is the worst they have ever seen it," Mr. Kobistek said.

He and the chief said the area flooded during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, when much of Carnegie was hard hit. There has not been another significant flood along Lexington Court since then, but borough officials and residents said water in the creek has risen to higher levels during rain in recent months than in the past.

Borough officials declared a state of emergency Saturday, an action that will permit them to contract for repairs without going through the bidding process, the mayor said.

Chief Harbin said the rain that came in the middle of last week caused the creek's retaining walls to deteriorate. Then, during the additional heavy rain Saturday, they broke loose and formed a temporary dam in the creek behind the homes on Lexington Court.

That dam caused the creek to overflow and flood onto Lexington Court, gushing down the street, through yards and into basements. Residents, who recorded the event on their cell phones, said several feet of water was in their basements.

Officials said the flooding would have been worse had it not been for the efforts of more than 30 volunteer firefighters from Bridgeville and Carnegie who removed some debris from the creek during the storm.

On Sunday, yards along Lexington Court were full of soggy items that residents were trying to clean and dry and determine if they were still usable.

The items included bikes, blankets, vacuum cleaners, china, decorations and exercise equipment. Most were hoping that their major appliances would work once they dried out.

The flood was especially devastating for Ashley and Brandon Bogdon, who were married two weeks ago and still had a number of wedding gifts and memorabilia stored in their basement.

Mrs. Bogdon had soggy boxes containing an electric skillet, mixer and steam cleaner drying out in her backyard, along with her husband's golf clubs and stepson's mountain bike.

Inside, she had wrinkled and stained pages from her wedding guestbook drying.

"Most of the hurt was the sentimental loss, the other stuff can be replaced," she said.

In addition to flooding, crumbling backyards were an issue for some residents.

On Lexington Court, Jeanine Kossler saw the back half of the detached garage on the property that she rents from her parents wash away in the creek. The garage will need to be razed. In addition, Ms. Kossler had several feet of water in her basement and, along with her neighbors, was scrubbing mud off of items on Sunday.

Across the creek on Run Street, Nancy Warrick and David Huggins lost about three feet of their backyard and a sturdy row of hedges to the creek, when the retaining wall along their property collapsed.

Ms. Warrick said they watched nervously during the rain as the creek water rose rapidly, but they relaxed as the rain eased up.

"I had just said, 'Nancy, I think we are going to be OK,' when it collapsed," Mr. Huggins said. He's now worried about his home sliding into the creek in future heavy downpours, since the creek bed now is just 15 feet from his home.

"If we get two more storms like [Saturday], I'd say it's gone," Mr. Huggins said.

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