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Massive search is underway for 2 children swept away in Pennsylvania flash flood

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Massive search is underway for 2 children swept away in Pennsylvania flash flood


Snyder Road in Phillipsburg, N.J., shows flood damage on Sunday. Courtesy of Jersey Central Power & Light via Associated Press

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. — Crews in suburban Philadelphia on Monday intensified the search for a missing 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, swept away after weekend rains swelled the banks of a creek while they were driving to a barbecue with their family.

Upper Makefield Township Fire Chief Tim Brewer said Monday the effort would be a “massive undertaking” and that 100 search crew and numerous drones would be looking for the siblings along the creek that drains into the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The children are members of a Charleston, South Carolina, family that was visiting relatives and friends when they got caught in a flash flood Saturday, Brewer said earlier.

“As they tried to escape the fierce floodwaters, Dad took his 4-year-old son while the mother and the grandmother grabbed the two additional children,” he said. The father and son were “miraculously” able to get to safety. “However the grandmother, the mother, and the two children were swept away by the floodwaters,” Brewer said. The mother was among those later found dead.

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The grandmother survived, Upper Makefield Police said in a social media post. But the mother of the two children died. Four other people died in the flooding, but it was unclear who they were. Victims’ names have not been released.

One of the cars that was swept up in flooding that occurred near Houghs Creek, in the Washington Crossing, Pa., area on Saturday. Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via Associated Press

Colleen Courtney, attending a church conference near the search scene Monday, was among those praying for the families.

“It’s just such a tragedy and just so much grief, I’m sure, and mourning that’s going on right now. I pray to find these children,” said Courtney, of Ewing, New Jersey.

Another news conference is planned for Monday afternoon.

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An already saturated Northeast began drying out Monday after drenching rain over the weekend resulted in flash flooding in parts of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency Sunday and planned to tour damage early Monday in the northwest part of the state.

A confirmed tornado touched down Sunday morning in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, but no injuries or major property damage were reported. In New Hampshire, where some roads caved in several towns, heavy rain postponed Sunday’s NASCAR race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway by a day.

Vermont reported no immediate safety threats following historic flooding nearly a week ago that dumped up to two months’ worth of rain in two days. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg planned to visit the state later Monday.

A car is buried in flood debris from recent storms and flooding on Monday in Belvidere, New Jersey. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press

The Vermont Emergency Management agency reported that swift-water rescue teams conducted an additional six rescues overnight following the storm. The agency also is monitoring areas at risk for landslides due to the rainfall.

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More rain was in the forecast for Tuesday.

Sunday’s strong storms led to hundreds of flight cancellations at airports in the New York City area, and hundreds were delayed.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said 5 inches of rain fell within two hours in Suffolk County on Long Island. The state saw $50 million in damages from storms in the past week.

In North Carolina, floodwaters were blamed for the death of a 49-year-old woman whose car was swept off a road in Alexander County late Saturday night. A man who was in the car with her was rescued.

Thousands of people in Kansas and Missouri were without power Monday from weekend storms that swept those states. Kansas’ largest electric power provider, Evergy, said it could take days to restore power to all customers. That could cause hardships for those people, as more storms — and stifling heat — are expected in Kansas and Missouri early this week, according to the National Weather Service.

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The deadly flash flooding in Pennsylvania called to mind the torrential rain that led to at least 25 deaths in New Jersey when the remnants of Ida passed through the state in 2021. People abandoned cars along washed-out roadways as muddy waters overtook driving lanes and flooded low-lying houses then.

In 2018 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, heavy rains brought up to 10 inches of water in a short time. No one died in that flooding.

 

Associated Press writers Ron Todt in Philadelphia; David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Maryland; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; and Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia contributed to this report.

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Pennsylvania

DEP urges all Pennsylvanians to test their homes for radon this January

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DEP urges all Pennsylvanians to test their homes for radon this January


PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – There’s a new alert to all Pennsylvanians about radon testing still being crucial in homes, schools, and businesses to protect your health.

A state radon expert is shining a light on why people should take “National Radon Action Month” seriously, no matter where they live in the state. 

We’re deep in the coldest days of the year; Homes are closed up and the heat is cranked up. It’s the best time to check your home for radon.

“Pennsylvania is probably the most radon-prone state in the country…We have results at least 25 times the EPA guideline of every county and some much more than others,” said Bob Lewis, the radon program manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Radiation Protection. 

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According to the American Lung Association, about 40 percent of Pennsylvania homes are believed to have radon levels, specifically above the EPA action level of 4 picocuries per liter (PCI/L).

Lewis said the naturally occurring radioactive gas can get into your home from the ground.

“It’s easily able to move from the soil and the rocks below the foundation, into the foundation,” he said.

You can’t smell, taste, see, or feel radon.

“Out of sight, out of mind, we can’t see it,” said Lewis.

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He said breathing high levels of radon into your lungs can lead to serious health problems.

“So, we’re breathing this radioactive gas into our lungs and that’s where it’s deposited and that’s where it can do potential damage. These radioactive particles basically get lodged on the epithelial lining of your lung, the surface of the lung, mostly in the upper tracheobronchial areas. And over long-term exposure, they can increase one’s risk of getting lung cancer,” Lewis said.

According to the EPA, radon is responsible for an estimated 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year in the U.S., and radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking.

Lewis said the first step to protect yourself and your family from the dangers is to buy an easy-to-use test kit at a hardware store or online. Then test your home and send the sample to a PA-certified lab. You can also hire a state-certified testing company.

“Get your test in the basement, and turn it back to the lab. You’ll get some test results after a week and a half or so,” he said.

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If your test results are high, take action to reduce the levels in your home. You’ll need a certified radon mitigation contractor to install a radon reduction system.

“It’s an active system that uses some PVC pipe in the basement and it draws the air from underneath the basement floor to the outside and then dumps at the roof line. So basically, you have a vacuum cleaner underneath your house. Those systems work very well. They’re relatively low maintenance, about $1,000, generally speaking, for a system to be installed,” Lewis said.

The last step is to remember to monitor your mitigation system. According to the DEP, you should periodically check if the fan is running by looking at the U-tube manometer on the PVC piping of your system. The fluid levels on each side of the glass tube should be uneven.

Lewis said you should also do a radon test in the winter once every two years to make sure the mitigation system is still working properly.

While you have to pay for the system out of your own pocket, Lewis said taking radon dangers seriously is worth it in the end.

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“It’s obviously a health benefit for you and your family. And it’s also a benefit when once you go then you go to sell the house too, at least if you’ve taken care of it,” he said.

You might not think about the dangers if you don’t own a house, but it’s recommended radon testing be done in rental homes, schools, and businesses too.

“We encourage, besides home, private homes, schools, and businesses to test as well. We’ve Been working with the Department of Education for quite a few years trying to get all the school districts to test,” Lewis said.

Call the DEP the Radon Hotline at 800-237-2366 for help with understanding test results and what action to take after getting back high results.

A list of state-certified radon contractors, labs, and testers is also available on DEP’s website. 

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The Allegheny County Health Department is providing more than 900 free radon test kits for residents. Pick up a test M-F between 8 AM and 4 PM at the Housing and Community Environment office (3190 Sassafras Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15201). One kit per household while supplies last so call ahead at 412-350-4046.

The American Lung Association is also offering free radon test kits. You can order them online.

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Suspect in killing of woman in Pa. motel in custody in N.J., cops say

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Suspect in killing of woman in Pa. motel in custody in N.J., cops say


A suspect in the homicide of a woman in Bensalem, Pennsylvania is in custody at the Trenton Police Department, police said Wednesday afternoon.

The suspect and victim’s identities have not been made public.

The Bensalem, Pennsylvania police and the Buck County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that officers found a woman dead at the Sleep Inn & Suites, on Street Road, early Wednesday. They did not detail the circumstances of her death.



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Shapiro threatens to pull Pennsylvania out of PJM over electricity prices

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Shapiro threatens to pull Pennsylvania out of PJM over electricity prices


Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is warning regional electricity grid operator PJM that the state will consider leaving the organization if it doesn’t do more to protect consumers against soaring power prices.

Shapiro’s letter marks a sharp escalation of his dispute with PJM, the largest U.S. wholesale power market and transmission coordinator, serving 65 million people from the Atlantic Seaboard to Chicago.

The risk of more power price escalation “threatens to undermine public confidence in PJM as an institution,” Shapiro said in his letter to Mark Takahashi, chair of PJM’s board of managers.

In a statement Tuesday, PJM said, “We appreciate the governor’s letter and have reached out to his office to discuss next steps.”

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