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Old 06-22-2008, 06:15 PM
 
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I am getting ready to move to Pittsburgh in August and with all the flooding throughout the Midwest, I was wondering if Pittsburgh has many problems with flooding. Thanks for any input.
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Old 06-22-2008, 06:47 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peanut33 View Post
I am getting ready to move to Pittsburgh in August and with all the flooding throughout the Midwest, I was wondering if Pittsburgh has many problems with flooding. Thanks for any input.

Well, since Pittsburgh is not in the Midwest, I don't see where it should be a concern. Historically, Pittsburgh used to have frequent floods along it's many waterways, but this is much less of a problem since flood control was implemented half a century ago. Considering that Pittsburgh is in the Appalachian region, just make sure you find a place away from the valleys (not difficult), and you won't have any problems.
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Old 06-22-2008, 06:54 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
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I don't live there any more, but the last flood I remember hearing about from my family was in the fall of 2004, when Pitt was playing Nebraska at Heinz Field. My bro told me if the river rose 5 more feet, there would be water on the field. The Nebraskans helped the Pittsburghers sandbag downtown. Apparently water was coming in the hotels. I was also there one time in the late 90s in late December. There was a snowstorm, then rain the next day ,and there was flooding of some creeks and streams.

My daughter had a gymnastics meet the day of that football game; we took a TV to the meet to watch the game.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Search

Last edited by Katarina Witt; 06-22-2008 at 07:02 PM..
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Old 06-22-2008, 07:08 PM
 
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Stay off the low-ground, which in a city as hilly as Pittsburgh won't be difficult.
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Old 06-22-2008, 07:15 PM
 
2,269 posts, read 3,773,735 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ExPit View Post
Stay off the low-ground, which in a city as hilly as Pittsburgh won't be difficult.
The worst flooding in recent times has almost always been hurricane related, where the remnants of some hurricane dumps a ton of rain in a short period.
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Old 06-23-2008, 12:25 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, USA
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The flooding during those bad times was mostly confined to the Etna and Millvale areas wasn't it?
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Old 06-23-2008, 06:36 AM
 
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Pittsburgh has a few flood plains (as others suggested, the usual suspects include the area around the confluence, Millvale, and Etna, plus also the Carnegie arewa). Flood control measures enacted after the St. Patrick's Day flood in 1936 have helped keep down the threat to the confluence in particular, but other areas have gotten worse (largely due to upstream development).

Anyway, it is pretty easy to avoid flooding just by living uphill. For example, I believe the elevation of the rivers at the confluence is about 710 feet, and the St. Patrick's Day flood added about 30 feet to that. But where I live (Pittsburgh's "East End") is pretty much all over 800 feet in elevation, so there is basically no chance of real flooding.
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Old 04-10-2017, 10:06 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
150 posts, read 346,571 times
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Enter any address you're concerned about here

https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search

and then click on "View Map" to see the 100- and 500-year flood plain map pertaining to that address.
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Old 04-10-2017, 10:35 PM
 
3,589 posts, read 3,346,185 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterRabbit View Post
The flooding during those bad times was mostly confined to the Etna and Millvale areas wasn't it?
During ivan everywhere had issues. I was on vacation and had all my work tools ruined in carnegie.
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Old 04-11-2017, 07:05 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
140 posts, read 164,811 times
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There are occasional floods, but you're likely fine as long as you're not right next to a creek/river.

Last major flood I remember was in 2004.. It was most definitely a major event & many neighborhoods (I particularly Carnegie) were completely underwater.
Pics: Photos from Pittsburgh Flood after remnants of hurricane Ivan

If you're worried about flooding, just stick to the hills (very easy to do). Also, take note of your commute since many of Pittsburgh's major arteries are in floodplains.
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