McKees Rocks residents can learn what to do to protect themselves and their property from possible flooding at 5:30 p.m. today in St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Ella Street.

And, Carnegie officials have distributed more than 100 emergency preparedness packets to the business community with instructions of what to do and where to go in the event of flooding.

McKees Rocks Mayor Jack Muhr said residents in flood-prone areas must be prepared as warmer temperatures (approaching 60 degrees) and rain (up to 1.5 inches between today and Saturday) are in the forecast.

The weather conditions and regional snowpack are similar to those of January 1996, when a sudden warm spell melted snow that combined with heavy rains to cause the worst flooding in the region in 24 years.

McKees Rocks residents will hear about the borough's emergency action plan and what they can do in case of a flooding emergency.

Mr. Muhr said the borough was working with the local VFW post on Chartiers Avenue to set up a shelter with cots available for people who are displaced by flooding.

The cots are being supplied by the Red Cross, the mayor said, and a plan is being worked on to provide drinking water and free transportation to the shelter with a minibus for those in need.

The mayor also advised residents to prepare their properties by moving any valuables they may have in their basements, including records and computers, to the first floor.

The areas of McKees Rocks the mayor is most concerned about are the Bottoms neighborhood along the Ohio River and the Chartiers Avenue business district, which is near Chartiers Creek.

He said 600 sandbags have been filled and are ready to go, and 600 more are available to protect flood-prone areas. If needed, he said, the sandbags will be used to protect low areas of Chartiers Avenue and Union Way, near AGF Supply Co. on Catherine and Munson streets, and along the borough's railroad tracks.

The sandbags are being filled by volunteers from the McKees Rocks Volunteer Fire Department, street department work crews and council members who volunteered, the mayor said.

Beyond the sand bags, the borough has a metal gate on the front of the tunnel on River Road that can be lowered to block the flow of water through the tunnel, the mayor said.

The tunnel can stop a flow of water as high as 12 to 14 feet and is controlled by a gear system powered by pneumatic pressure.

"We lowered it in 1996, and it held the water back," the mayor said.

In Carnegie, borough officials and the volunteer fire department have been distributing flood information to residents in the Lexington Court, Railroad Avenue, Run Street and Irishtown neighborhoods.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall on Beechwood Avenue has been deisgnated as an alternate safety center in case the fire station is unavailable due to flooding.

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