Rumblings of the New Madrid-related
earthquake ripped through Western Pennsylvania
Wednesday morning causing a great deal of damage followed by continued
anxiety from the after-shocks. Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan
Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl each declared states of
emergency as responders scrambled to deal with damage across the
region. First responders from across the state have made their way west
to assist in recovery efforts.
Harry Orlando, 74, of Shaler, was
sitting in the barber shop he owns, drinking coffee, when the building
he works in started to destruct. "I just heard this low roar, and
everything in my barber shop started shaking," Orlando said.
The second and third floors of his
building were exposed, after parts of the roof collapsed and bricks
tumbled to the pavement.
"It was sort of like, kind
of heartbreaking," Orlando
said, surveying the damage. "It's hard to end your career on a
note like this. I said I'd always cut hair until I couldn't cut hair no
more. Luckily nobody in here was hurt."
Nearby, at Little Earth
Productions, a company that makes products out of recycled license
plates, owner Rob Brandegee said he thinks he escaped death by not
being in his office yet. "Literally, if I was in there, I think I
would have gotten killed," said Brandegee, 41.
EMS District Chief Steve Carlson
said surprisingly, few injuries were reported. "The time of day
has a lot to do with it," he said.
Since Wednesday night, 97,500
Allegheny Power customers in 24 counties in Western Pennsylvania lost
power, mostly in Allegheny, Butler,
Washington and
Westmoreland counties, said spokesman David Neurohr. About 11,800
customers were without power as of 11 a.m., mostly in Allegheny,
Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, he said.
The sewage authority, Alcosan is
having problems with broken main lines as well, said spokeswoman Nancy
Barylak.
Barylak said the authority --
which serves 83 Allegheny County municipalities, including Pittsburgh -- might
not know how much damage its system sustained until Saturday. "We
are expecting problems." The sewage authority's infrastructure hit
its 225-million-gallon capacity at 8:07 a.m. because of water breaks
coupled with heavy rains.
