Information on injuries/deaths, power outages, key road closings and more around the Keystone State.
INJURIES/DEATHS
Five people were killed, including an 8-year-old Susquehanna County boy who died when a tree limb fell on him. In Berks County, a 62-year-old man was killed after a tree fell atop his house. A man trimming a tree in preparation for the storm fell and died in Lancaster County. A vehicle passenger died in Somerset County when the car she was riding in slid off a snowy, slushy road and overturned into a pond. A 17-year-old riding an ATV in Northampton County died after striking a fallen tree on an all-terrain vehicle during the storm. An infant was slightly injured when a tree fell on a house in Delaware County. A York County woman was charged after she jumped into a raging creek to “save” a couple dozen wild ducks.
POWER OUTAGES
The number of customers without power peaked at more than 1.2 million customers throughout Pennsylvania today, according to utilities FirstEnergy, PECO and PPL. That figure ranks among the top three storms ever with hurricanes Agnes (1972) and Floyd (1999), according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Gov. Tom Corbett said he is working to ensure that power outages caused by this week’s storm will not interfere with voting for president and other major offices next week.
EVACUATIONS
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission advised residents of about 80 homes downstream of the Speedwell Forge Lake Dam in Elizabeth Township, Lancaster County, to evacuate as a precaution. Bensalem Township, north of Philadelphia, ordered more than 100 residences evacuated Monday; In Darby Borough, just southwest of Philadelphia, 150-200 people were evacuated Monday.
SHELTERS
Approximately 450 people were in shelters across the state today, down from more than 900 earlier in the day, according to Corbett. Pennsylvania opened “mega-shelters” at two state-owned universities to help 1,800 people left homeless in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
KEY ROAD CLOSINGS
Call 5-1-1 or visit 511PA.com to check traffic warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speeds on interstates and traffic cameras. Pennsylvania law imposes fines up to $500 plus emergency response costs on motorists who drive past “road closed” signs.
US Airways canceled all flights today at Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. It hoped to resume operations at all airports Wednesday.
Major interstates around Philadelphia reopened early today including I-95 and I-676, and portions of I-476, I-76 and U.S. Route 1 extension in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Turnpike resumed normal operations.
PennDOT reported some 425 road and bridge closures because of downed trees and power lines, flooding or washed-out bridges.
Four Delaware River bridges— the Walt Whitman, Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross, Commodore Barry — reopened at 4 a.m. today.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said some bus and trolley service resumed at noon, but regional rail remained shut down today because of wind and tree damage.
Today's ballot application deadline is extended for a day or two for counties where courthouses were closed Monday, Tuesday, or both.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Anybody without electricity is probably not saying we dodged a bullet.” — Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday after detailing that more than 1.2 million people in Pennsylvania are without power.
