Floyd batters down Phila. area

The skies darkened over Philadelphia yesterday as pounding rain and angry winds raging late into the night enveloped the region in a maelstrom of canceled classes, falling trees and flooded streets. Hurricane Floyd decided to stop by. The powerful storm that has been blamed for at least 12 deaths dropped 12 inches of rain on the Philadelphia area and left thousands without power. It has caused flooding, toppled trees and downed power lines, prompting local schools and businesses --Eincluding Penn -- to close early for safety reasons yesterday. Southwest Philadelphia was the hardest hit and last night hundreds of people were reportedly evacuated from their homes there. The storm blew through the region all day with gusting winds that reached 50 mph in the afternoon. Late in the day, Floyd was downgraded to a tropical storm and by evening, the rain had diminished. But the howling wind continued to rattle the streetlights and shake the windows as the gray skies turned to black. Facilities and buildings across campus received a beating but managed to pull through without too much damage, according to Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta. Moneta said the University Bookstore was the hardest hit, sustaining leaks through the center ceiling. He said several residences had minor "water penetration" problems and the third floor of Stouffer Dining Hall was flooded. Several students reported water accumulation in their dorm rooms. All the dining halls stayed open yesterday, said Moneta. And Facilities Services had staff members working around the clock to try and combat the weather-related difficulties. There were no reports of any power outages in University dormitories last night. Police last night were checking several facilities on the eastern end of campus for possible flooding. Overall, Moneta said he was pleased with how Penn survived the storm. "Nobody got hurt [and] anything that got wet can be fixed," he said Executive Vice President John Fry announced yesterday afternoon that all evening classes were canceled and non-essential staff were also urged to leave, effective at 1:30 p.m. Individual teachers were allowed to cancel afternoon classes at their own discretion, and many did. Fry said the decision was made for safety reasons, namely to help prevent a busy rush hour during the late afternoon hours that forecasters speculated would see the brunt of the storm hit Philadelphia. But he said unless the weather forecast changed, the University would be open today. "My understanding is that the weather will be fine," he said. Vice President for Public Safety Thomas Seamon said his office was in contact with city officials regarding the weather conditions and that an increased number of police officers would patrol the area throughout the night. Weather-related incidents punctuated the evening. Several large trees and branches fell to the ground -- including one on Pine Street between 40th and 41st streets, which hit three parked cars. "It sounded like thunder," said College sophomore Darleen Cafasso, the owner of one of the cars. There were no reports of injuries. Another tree fell down beneath the 38th Street footbridge. It ripped up the surrounding slabs of sidewalk but did not block traffic down the busy thoroughfare. The weather brought down power lines throughout the state, leaving a reported 200,000 customers in the dark. Railway and airline services were disrupted, including a temporary closure of Philadelphia International Airport. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge declared a disaster emergency in the afternoon, permitting state resources and personnel to be used to help various flood affected communities. Unlike New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, though, Ridge did not declare a state of emergency. Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell urged local businesses to send employees home on a staggered basis throughout the afternoon. "We asked people to exercise caution," said mayoral spokesperson Kevin Feeley, who added that non-essential city employees were also allowed to leave. University City businesses responded to the weather issues. All the Sansom Common stores -- the Penn Bookstore, Xando, Urban Outfitters, Douglas Parfumerie and Eastern Mountain Sports -- closed early. Floyd traveled up the coast from North Carolina, eventually being downgraded to a tropical storm as it hit the northeast region. At 11 p.m. last night, the storm's winds had fallen to 60 mph. Its center was 25 miles east of Hartford, Conn., and moving quickly northeast at 25 mph. Forecasters said it would continue to weaken today. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writers Karlene Hanko, Rod Kurtz and Jonathan Margulies and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

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