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PICTURES SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS

"We have to be on the air and keep a straight face and keep calm but we knew that a lot of our friends and family here in Northeastern Pennsylvania were going through a terrible time and it was just awful to see some of those pictures," says Dave Kuharchik.

In Luzerne County, people living in the flood plain may have been evacuated but the water wasn't going anywhere. "Standing on the levee in Edwardsville and looking out at the Kmart shopping center on route 11, and we were standing there at night, and it was foggy, and that was very scary," said Monica Madeja.

"We heard stories about Kmart in Edwardsville. We're hearing stories about Agalino's in West Pittston. Then you go down to Banko's in West Nanticoke that people are telling you is under water. And it's amazing. You never think in your lifetime that you're going to see buildings, homes and restaurants under water. You look at the video the next day of the houses going down the river," said Josh Hodell.

"We saw that image of JJ Banko's over in West Nanticoke with water just up to the roof. We saw the image of the Kmart store over in Edwardsville, virtually, completely under water and just in awe of the power of Mother Nature," says Jeremy Deebel.

Back on the Market Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre, the Eyewitness News crew was getting a glimpse of just how powerful the mighty Susquehanna can be. "And every once in a while we'd hear a loud crash and it was debris and things washing down the river, crashing into the Market Street Bridge, because that bridge is so low. At one point we heard this big loud boom, it was a whole dumpster, a whole big, green construction dumpster right down the river, slammed right into that bridge," said Dave Skutnik.

At one point the fear set-in. "There was a gasket failure in the Market Street Bridge flood wall. We went running down there and we saw what looked like basically gushing water. It didn't look good knowing what was on the other side of that gate," recalls Monica Madeja.

Dave Skutnik says, "When the water started spewing out of that flood gate at the Market Street Bridge we were standing about 50 or 100 yards away. The cops that were right there, I've never seen people run so fast in my life. When that water started spewing from that wall these people sprinted down the street. They were running for their lives. They really thought that wall was coming down."

"Then, as the night went on, we saw dump truck after dump truck. At one point I counted nine dump trucks in a row along river street. Putting, what we were told is a mixture of sand. It started out as sand and then it got to be bigger pieces, big pieces of concrete it looked like or large stone just to basically plug up that hole. But I can tell you from standing there near the Market Street Bridge on River Street on that levee, and seeing all that activity and the flurry of dump trucks going to fill up and stop that hole, it was scary," recalls Madeja.

The levees held in Wilkes-Barre. The seepage spewing through the flood gates was considered a normal occurrence for such a massive amount of water.

Meanwhile the northern tier had problems of its own. People in Susquehanna County were dealing with devastation as well. Mark Hiller says, "I saw places like New Milford and Hallstead and Great Bend all under water, families uprooted during the middle of the night, sent into shelters. Shelters jam packed with people, not knowing what's happened to their homes and when they might be able to return, if in fact that was even going to be possible."

"We saw houses literally falling into the ground because their foundations had just washed away and you just can't put into words what it meant to be there to see that as it was happening and I don't think we'll be able to put it into words unless you were there and experienced it," says Jeremy Deebel.

Back in Columbia County the flood was about to claim a victim that would dampen the spirits of tens of thousands of people. "Going down to Bloomsburg the day after and seeing the fairgrounds sitting under five feet of water. Because for me, I've been to the Bloomsburg Fair, I know what it's supposed to look like. And going down there and seeing all the grandstands and the water up on the stage and that completely covered," says Shannon Murphy.

In the coming weeks officials would decide to cancel the Bloomsburg Fair. It's the first time that would happen in the 157 years of the event.


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