WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Tens of thousands of people forced from their homes in Pennsylvania were allowed to return yesterday as the Sus-
quehanna River receded from some of its highest floodwaters ever, swollen by remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

Other residents evacuated from river towns in New York and Maryland awaited permission to return as officials surveyed flood damage.

In northeastern Pennsylvania, officials lifted an evacuation order for as many as 60,000 of 70,000 residents in and around Wilkes-Barre.

The rest probably would be able to return today, said Stephen Bekanich, Luzerne County emergency management agency director.

At least 15 deaths have been blamed on Lee and its aftermath: seven in Pennsylvania, three in Virginia, one in Maryland, and four others killed when the storm came ashore on the Gulf Coast last week.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said yesterday that state officials received reports of five additional deaths from the storm, but the circumstances of those deaths had not been confirmed.

President Obama has declared states of emergency in Pennsylvania and New York, opening the way for federal aid.

Much of the Northeast was still soggy from Hurricane Irene and its aftermath a week earlier by the time Lee’s rainy remnants arrived.

The Susquehanna’s level had dropped to about 32 feet yesterday morning and was expected to be back within its banks at about 29 feet, Luzerne County Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla said.

Mr. Bekanich estimated damage was in the tens of millions — but could have been more than $3 billion if levees hadn’t held.

“The levees held,” he said. “The levees performed magnificently.”

The Susquehanna crested Thursday at nearly 42.7 feet in Wilkes-Barre, higher than the record set during catastrophic Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and at 25.7 feet in Binghamton, N.Y.

In Pennsylvania, Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban said the number of people in shelters had fallen to about 1,000 although some people returned to shelters after finding their homes too damaged to stay.

“There are still going to be people needing shelters today,” he said.

Mr. Urban said engineers were examining the levee system and utility companies were working to restore gas and power to areas where it was shut off before the flood.

“There’s a degree of normalcy returning for the people in areas protected by the levee, but there’s a lot of work ahead for a number of communities outside the levee system,” he said.

Officials warned that any floodwater remaining in houses and yards was potentially toxic.

“You don’t want to be breathing in any dust particles or anything like that,” Mr. Bekanich said.

“There’s raw sewage, there’s the potential for petroleum products from home heating oil and things of that nature may be mixed in with the floodwaters,” he said.

Scattered thunderstorms for the rest of the weekend could unleash heavy rain in some areas, threatening flash flooding, according to meteorologist Meghan Evans on Accuweather.com. A break in the clouds was predicted for tomorrow and Tuesday.

inghamton Mayor Matt Ryan said officials were working on modifying evacuation orders issued in flood-prone neighborhoods so people whose homes weren’t flooded could possibly return over the weekend.

Some of the 20,000 evacuees in the Binghamton-area began returning Friday. He could not say when the orders would be lifted entirely.

n Maryland, most of the 1,000 residents of Port Deposit were told to evacuate because of flooding expected from the opening of flood gates at the Conowingo Dam to relieve pressure on the Susquehanna River.

First Published September 11, 2011, 5:00 a.m.