WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — Officials say the levees holding back the Susquehanna River are under “extreme stress” by a larger-than-anticipated flood after officials raised the estimated water height by about 3 feet.
County flood protection official Jim Brozena says the Susquehanna’s level in Wilkes-Barre is the highest on record and “well beyond the design” for the levee system.
The U.S. Geological Survey now estimates the Susquehanna River crested at more than 42 feet, well above earlier estimates necessitated by a broken flood gauge.
Brozena says the river’s level is dropping and was most recently measured at 40.3 feet. But he says officials are facing the “extreme limits” of the flood control system.
Mandatory evacuations are still in effect for tens of thousands in the area.
