'Extremely Dangerous' Pittsburgh Flood Sparks Urgent Warning for Pet Owners

A moisture-laden spring storm brought torrential rain to Pittsburgh this week, causing hazardous flood situations that prompted people to evacuate their homes with their pets.

The rain began on Thursday and began to pick up in the afternoon hours. During that time, rainfall rates exceeded 3 to 4 inches per hour. The storm is part of the same system that wreaked havoc on Gulf Coast states and then the Midwest earlier this week.

As of Thursday night, more than 4 inches of rain fell in the Pittsburgh area, prompting urgent warnings for people and pets to evacuate as floodwaters submerged parts of the city.

"We have issued a FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY for part of southwest Allegheny County and northern Washington County where greater than 4" of rain has fallen," the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Pittsburgh posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday night. "Water rescues in vehicles and homes are ongoing. This is an extremely dangerous situation for locations in the highlighted area."

Etna, a small borough in Allegheny County, posted an urgent message late Thursday night to its residents on Facebook, requesting that they evacuate with their animals.

"The Borough of Etna has issued an evacuation notification for those living in the flood zones or prone to flooding. Pine Creek has reached 14 feet. Please leave the area and take any pets with you," the post said. "If you do not have somewhere to go, Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Grant and Highland Avenues is open and manned. If you do not evacuate go to the highest floor of your home as emergency personnel may not be able to reach you to evacuate you. You may have to remain there until the flood waters recede."

NWS meteorologist Mike Kennedy told Newsweek that rain continues to fall in Pittsburgh on Friday morning and that the rain will taper off this afternoon. Dry conditions are expected to return tomorrow.

"It's still raining, but we don't anticipate any new areas of flooding," he said.

Earlier this week, parts of Texas received more than 10 inches of rain. The torrential downpours called for animal rescues, with one man who hurried to rescue the horses from his barn that flooded.

"LONE STAR LIFESAVER: A Texas man jumps into action to rescue horses from his barn that were neck deep in flood water following heavy rainfall," Fox News posted to X on Thursday morning. "He guided all the animals out by boat and wouldn't leave until they were accounted for."

In Roganville, Texas, volunteer firefighters helped people evacuate their homes. They also saved animals from the floodwaters, including livestock.

"We carried people and their fur babies. We saved alot of animal lives at the Kirbyville Auction Barn," the Roganville Volunteer Fire Department posted on Facebook. "It was a very long, tiring day."

The fire department's post added that there was no loss of life during the rescues.