Although the Schuylkill County Courthouse building sits on top of one of the seven hills which comprise of the City of Pottsville, it was closed Thursday morning because of flood conditions in the county.

County Commissioner Mantur Gallagher met with President Judge William E. Baldwin and at first considered a delay but as flood waters continued to rise, on advise of the county's Emergency Management Center, a decision was made to close.The report was stae routes 443, 895, 645, 125, 25 and 183 were closed. Only SR61 remained open. Many county employees living a distance from the courthouse called in because they were unable to get to work.For the first time, Interstate 81 in the Pine Grove area was closed.The driver of a tractor trailer and the occupants of three passenger vehicles were caught in high waters and had to be rescued.The Pine Grove area appeared to have taken the brunt of the flooding. National Guard personnel from Indiantown Gap were called to assist with evacuating certain areas, especially two mobile home complexes in the area.A great number of the streams throughout the county crested causing flash floods in areas of the larger rivers.