WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Authorities in northeastern Pennsylvania say they hope to lift an evacuation order Saturday afternoon and allow about 70,000 residents to return to their homes in communities in and around Wilkes-Barre.

Luzerne County Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla says the level of the Susquehanna River had dropped to about 32 feet on Saturday morning and was expected to be back within its banks at about 29 feet.

She said officials were asking for patience from residents as they try to coordinate traffic and restoration of power.

Petrilla said the Army Corps of Engineers was inspecting levees strained as the river crested at nearly 42.7 feet Thursday night, higher than the record set during catastrophic Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

Crews have been shoring up weak points of levees under “extreme stress” but holding.