Eastern Pa. gears up for hurricane's assault
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Gov. Tom Corbett declared a statewide disaster emergency Friday, authorizing state agencies to use all available personnel and resources to deal with Hurricane Irene, which is expected to heavily impact the eastern part of the state.
It was a much different story locally, as Irene is not expected to hit Western Pennsylvania, but local officials and agencies were still preparing to help any way they can.
"Since Allegheny County will not be impacted by Hurricane Irene, I have directed our Department of Emergency Services to prepare its resources to assist Eastern Pennsylvania, which will definitely feel the effects of this massive storm," Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato said in a statement. "If and when the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency requests our help, we will be ready to respond and assist."
The storm will impact major cities along the East Coast, including Philadelphia, Washington and New York.
The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning for Philadelphia and for neighboring Delaware County and predicted the area could receive up to 9 inches of rain from the storm.
The forecast for the Pittsburgh area was quite a contrast. The National Weather Service predicts mostly sunny skies for today with highs in the lower 80s. Sunday should be partly sunny with highs in the mid-70s.
While the storm was not expected to affect the weather in Pittsburgh, officials were readying contingency plans for travel in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh International Airport was preparing to receive aircraft that might be moved out of harm's way.
"We're treating it like a winter storm in terms of what we're telling people: Wait this out and avoid unnecessary travel," said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Chizmar. "It's just simply not worth the risk."
First Published August 27, 2011 12:00 am
