LEWISTOWN - By early Tuesday morning the brunt of what was once Hurricane Sandy had swept through the Juniata Valley, sparing most people any significant damage.
At 10 a.m. local officials met at the Mifflin County Courthouse Annex to receive an update from Phil Lucas, Mifflin County's Director of Emergency Management.
Lucas said no serious storm related injuries had been reported.
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Sentinel photo by KIERNAN SCHALK
Several trees along Coopers Gap Road in Brown Township were toppled Monday night when the brunt of Hurricane Sandy’s highwinds swept through the Juniata Valley.
He said said the storm broke up more than expected as it came inland, and as a result the forecast for the next 24 hours was better than anticipated.
Lucas said the Juniata River would crest at 22 feet, just below the minor flood stage, sometime early this morning. This will most likely impact roads adjacent to the river, specifically in Wayne and Granville Townships.
Lucas said the Lewistown electrical substation, located on the south side of town, has been isolated to prevent any damage.
There were some road closures in both Mifflin and Juniata counties, which continued throughout the day on Tuesday, however most roads should be reopened by Wednesday, Lucas said.
When reached by phone Tuesday morning, Juniata County Emergency Management Director Alan Weaver also had no serious storm related injuries to report.
Weaver said there were two reports of minor damages to structures, but other than that the majority of problems for Juniata County came in the form of JUNIATA downed trees and electrical wires.
Lucas said the majority of wires that came down on Monday night were television and phone wires.
Both Mifflin and Juniata counties experienced sporadic power outages. Nearly 1,800 people lost power in Mifflin County, about 10 percent of the population, Lucas said.
Lucas said compared to other counties in the southeastern portion of the state where as much as 80 percent of the population lost power, Mifflin County fared well.
"Overall we are very fortunate as opposed to other parts of the state," Lucas said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, only a few hundred people were still without power in Juniata County, Weaver said.
"We came through it pretty well," he said.
