PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh agency in charge of water and sewer services said Monday an inspection by underground cameras of the sewers last month showed "nothing was clogged or broken" that could have led to the flooding that claimed the lives of four people - including a Tamaqua native and her two daughters - in last week's storm.

But newspaper accounts over the past half-century have indicated a history of flooding problems on the same stretch of road, including a case in which a motorist was drowned in a car.The Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority said in a statement that underground cameras had inspected sewer pipes after serious flooding last month and found no problems. The authority is examining solutions, such as emergency road closures or raising the road. The agency did not respond to messages Monday seeking further comment.Rescuers in inflatable boats saved more than a dozen motorists trapped by floods on Washington Boulevard during the afternoon rush hour Friday, but were unable to help the four people trapped by waters that rose to a depth 9 feet in minutes. Kimberly Griffith, a Tamaqua native, and her two daughters, ages 8 and 12, died when their minivan became pinned against a tree in the rising water on Washington Boulevard.Previous news reports include a 1967 flood in the exact location where a mother and her two children and an elderly woman died Friday."The rush of water blocked the storm sewer at Washington Boulevard and Allegheny River Boulevard, trapping two girls in one car and a man in another," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on July 28, 1967.A July 20, 1953, Post-Gazette story reported that police "recalling a similar flash flood in which a woman was drowned in a car two summers ago on Washington Boulevard, lost little time closing that artery to traffic."Another story from the paper May 7, 1956, noted that "distress was most acute again in the low-lying sections of Washington Boulevard, scene of numerous floods and fatalities in other storms. Scores of cars were stalled at various points by water which rose to hubcap and hood level - and even to the roof of one car from which a woman and small boy were rescued by rowboating policemen."David Dzombak, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said it's not enough to simply say there was too much rain for the system to handle."It has not been determined that the storm we experienced Friday was that unusual," Dzombak said. "Before we let people off the hook and say it was an act of God, there should be an investigation."After the same area flooded July 18, an employee from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation expressed concern to Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority personnel at the site, department spokesman Jim Struzzi told The Associated Press.Struzzi said the department had known of 2009 flooding on Washington Boulevard, but he hadn't heard of the older problems. PennDOT is only responsible for the road, not the sewer system underneath.Dzombak said there must have been some problem with the system, even if it wasn't clogged."If it performed as designed, then the system is clearly not adequate," Dzombak added. "I think there should be a thorough investigation of the systems by qualified professionals. I think that should be determined by a third-party."A spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the mayor didn't plan to comment Monday.Floodwaters engulfed the boulevard, blowing out manhole covers, after back-to-back storms dumped more than 3 inches of rain on the city.