Thursday night, a storm system swept across Centre County, dumping seven to eight inches of rain in under three hours. In the Bald Eagle Valley, basements, sheds and low-lying homes began to fill up with water.
County Commissioner Mike Pipe says by 3 a.m., Centre County decided to declare a disaster emergency.
“Evacuation of the Milesburg area occurred in the morning hours," said Pipe. "And it was not just residents in Milesburg, but also the personal care home Eagle Valley that was fully evacuated.”
The Red Cross set up an emergency shelter at Bald Eagle High School for evacuated families, many of whom were rescued by boat. But not everyone was leaving, like Milesburg resident Margie McCullough.
“The national guard came through, they wanted us to go, but we said we’ll wait it out," she said with a laugh.
McCullough and her daughter watched as the water rose to the ceiling of the basement and lapped against the first floor. They got the potatoes out but couldn’t save the furnace, which will cost about $1000 to replace. It’s the worst flooding McCullough has seen since Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
But by this morning, McCullough said, most of the water had receded.
“We was shocked because, I think, 2:30 [a.m.] we went to bed and everything was covered, even the fire hydrant," said McCullough. "At 4 o'clock, when I got up, it was down good.”
There was one fatality in neighboring Clinton County. But in Bald Eagle Valley, it’s just a matter of cleaning up and rebuilding. Pipe says that’s part of the motivation behind declaring a state of emergency.
“We can potentially get money from the state or federal government to help with damage that’s occurred to public roadways, local businesses and residents properties as well,” said Pipe.
Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Tim Kaine, who was in State College today stumping for Hillary Clinton, gave a nod to the flood victims during his speech.
"There's a number of homes in the county that are flooded and underwater, there's been an emergency declaration in part of the county," said Kaine. "So I just want to say we're thinking of you."
