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Levees face test as Susquehanna River crests

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The Susquehanna River crested overnight at its second-highest level ever in northeastern Pennsylvania, failing to top levees protecting some residents but leaving thousands of people further downriver or in areas not sheltered by levees in danger of flooding later Friday or over the weekend.

The National Weather Service said the river had been forecast to crest at nearly 41 feet -- the height of the levees -- in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., but topped out at just below 39 feet at about 3:30 a.m. Friday, the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre reported. On Thursday, about 75,000 people in the city and surrounding communities were under a mandatory evacuation order imposed by officials who feared a repeat of the devastating floods that swamped the city in 1972 in the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes.

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“Everything is replaceable...but my life is not,” said Rose Simko, one of the evacuees, whose home sits about 150 feet from a levee, The Associated Press reported. Evacuees were told to expect to be away from home until Sunday or Monday.

The river, which runs through Wilkes-Barre, has been swollen by rain first from Tropical Storm Irene, and more recently by Tropical Storm Lee. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Pennsylvania early Friday to expedite federal aid to flood-stricken areas.

Further downriver, about 20,000 residents of Binghamton, N.Y., were also under mandatory evacuation orders as officials there prepared for the Susquehanna’s crest. The city’s location between the Susquehanna and the Chenango rivers makes it particularly vulnerable to flooding, and roads throughout the city and City Hall were closed Friday.

“This is nothing to be trifled with,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday after surveying the region, as he urged people to heed evacuation orders. “This is going to get much worse before it gets better.”

-- Tina Susman in New York

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Rivers rise as Tropical Storm Lee pelts northeast with rain

Photo: National Guard troops rescue Yolanda Redick from the rising Susquehanna River in West Pittston, Pa. Credit: Eric Thayer, Reuters

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