Tropical Storm Lee Evacuations

Today in Wilkes-Barre, PA, emergency precautions are being made to try and help repair the already leaking Floodgates.  With an additional foot and a half of rain predicted before the night is out, 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. It is expected that the Susquehanna River, already well beyond stressing the flood gates protecting the town, will smash records tonight, cresting at around 40.8 feet between 2:00 and 3:00 AM. In the event the flood gates do give out, the entire town of Wilkes-Barre will be left completely under water.

Upstream, and along the Shenango River, which feeds into the Susquehanna, the only thing stopping it from doing the same thing to Binghamton, NY, is a flood wall built in the 1930's. There, 16,000 people have been evacuated to flood shelters as well. They'll be spending the night on cots, waiting for the waters to recede, and hoping that their 80-year-old protector can hold out. Rain poured down last night, raising the level of the river visibly by feet over the course of four to six hours, finally stopping at just before daybreak, also crushing records previously set June 28, 2006.

(Written from a program on the Weather Chanel, as well as http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/lee-remnants-strike-northeast_2011-09-07)