Advertisement Connellsville flooding: Emergency declared, curfew ordered, school canceled Local, county, state officials survey areas for damage, effort donation drives Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A state of emergency has been declared and a nightly curfew instituted in Connellsville, where severe flooding from Sunday night's storms has caused widespread damage to homes, vehicles and streets.Safety, power outages, looting and impassable roads were cited by the City Council as reasons why the curfew is necessary. It will be in effect from 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. for all streets north of Route 119, from the memorial bridge to the city line at North Pittsburgh Street Extension.Classes in the Connellsville Area School District were scheduled to begin this week, but superintendent Philip Martell said Tuesday that school will not begin until Sept. 6.Video: Car moved by flooding, basketball court covered by waterOn Connell Avenue, the flooding ripped a chain-link fence away from a house and moved a vehicle down the street. The road was littered with fallen trees, branches and chairs. A basketball court in neighboring John Woodruff Park was covered by water.Video: Watch Ashlie Hardway's reportA mark about 3 feet high was left across the front of one house on Connell Avenue, indicating how high the water had risen there.Jeffrey Coffer pointed toward cars that he said had been completely covered by flood waters on Mountz Street, which intersects with Connell Avenue in the Dutch Bottom area of the city."I had my stepson on my shoulders back in that alley, and it was up to my neck, and I'm 6-foot-6," he said."Can't live here no more:" Connellsville resident says flooding has happened before, "but not like this"Route 119 was blocked north of Connellsville and remained impassable in some areas. It opened late Monday night to traffic. Breakneck Road was also closed because of high water.A car that was seen being towed away on Monday morning had floated to the road from a nearby house, according to a witness. A sewing machine that had been washed into the road was sitting in the mud.41415516Nearby Bullskin Township and Breakneck were also hit hard when nearly 5 inches of rain fell in under two hours, said Fayette County Commissioner Vincent Vicites, who toured the areas on Monday."(Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency) is here now going door-to-door at the homes that they felt were flood-damaged. If anybody else has a home that they feel was flood-damaged and they didn't hear from them, they need to get in touch with the commissioners or our emergency management agency," Vicites said.The two other county commissioners, David Lohr and Angela Zimmerlink, also toured flood-ravaged areas, Vicites said.In Breakneck, several cars were seriously damaged after being swept away by floodwaters. Homes had bricks ripped from the front and sheds were toppled atop debris and vehicles."(My boyfriend) looked out the window. He went to heat something up in the microwave and saw a truck floating against the neighbor's fence. He looked out the back window and there were tires and cars and all kinds of debris floating everywhere," Bonnie Prinkey said. "They had to climb up on tables and break out the back kitchen window to ask for help."Despite the significant flooding, no one was killed or seriously hurt. One woman had to be rescued from her truck as she drove into Breakneck, witnesses said. They said she was stuck in the truck in Breakneck Creek for nearly two hours before anyone was able to rescue her.In Bullskin Township along Buttermore Road, the swelled Breakneck Creek swept away several more vehicles and flooded out homes and a restaurant."One girl that closes (up the restaurant) called me and said she couldn't get out because the water was too deep. I told her to call 911. She called 911 and by that time, her car went down," Miedel's Restaurant owner Rodney Allen said. "I'm 66 years old and I've never, ever seen this type of devastation."Volunteers from the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army were on-site in Fayette County to hand out food, bottled water, clean-up kits and other types of aid. County road and bridge workers were assigned to help out homeowners and residents clean up instead of tending to their typical duties. Employees with Williams Energy who were working at sites nearby were redirected to help affected families.Overall, victims of flooding were in positive spirits, despite the costly damage."We're spraying a table off. I got a hold of some friends on social media. They're going to bring down some bottled water and some pumps," Chase Ranker said."I work and take care of others, and I hope others will take care of me. A blessing from God, I'm hoping," Prinkey said.Connellsville Mayor Greg Lincoln was instrumental in coordinating volunteer efforts for victims. Lincoln posted on Facebook on Monday afternoon that officials were overwhelmed with supplies, and instead asked that people make monetary donations."The American Red Cross is set up at Connellsville Township Fire hall. All flood victims can go there to register for assistance. (You) must show proof of identification. They are there now. Call 724-438-2567," Lincoln said. "We are overwhelmed with supplies. We are now asking anyone who wants to donate to please donate a monetary donation to Community Ministries, the health insurance store or Bruner Insurance. Thank you to everyone for your support."Share photos of severe weather: Email ulocal@wtae.com or tap the u local button on the WTAE mobile app.10925100