Flash floods inundate parts of Pittsburgh

By Michael A. Fuoco, Diana Nelson Jones, and Lillian Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted: August 21, 2011

PITTSBURGH - A total of 2.1 inches of rain fell in an hour Friday during the evening rush in Pittsburgh, said Rihaan Gangat, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. But an earlier storm meant the region was drenched by three to four inches of rain overall, causing flash floods that killed four people.

Kimberly Griffith, 45, of Plum, and her daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, were trapped in their vehicle and drowned in water that rose as high as nine feet on Washington Boulevard, which runs between Highland Park and Lincoln/Lemington. They were pronounced dead inside their car at 6:10 p.m. Friday, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office.

On Saturday, the medical examiner identified the fourth victim, Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont, who was found along the shore of the Allegheny River near Washington Boulevard.

Three Pittsburgh police officers and Raymond DeMichiei, deputy director of the Pittsburgh Office of Emergency Management, who used two rowboats commandeered from a nearby marina, and River Rescue personnel rescued 15 people who were clinging to trees or stranded on the roofs of their vehicles.

Eighteen vehicles were recovered when water receded.

Officials searched Friday night and Saturday morning for Saflin, who had been talking to her daughter on the phone before the line went dead. Police found her purse at the scene.

Saflin's body was found partly in the water and partly on shore halfway between the Highland Park Bridge and the 62d Street Bridge.

Officials say they believe she ended up in the river because she had gotten out of her vehicle and was drawn into a storm sewer just off Washington Boulevard.

The Griffiths' vehicle was forced against a tree, according to officials. It was completely submerged, so rescuers initially did not realize it was there.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.

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