BENSALEM, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A wild stretch of weather led to serious flooding in parts of lower Bucks County, Northeast Philadelphia and South Jersey on Monday night.
The National Weather Service is pulling out a rarely used phrase to describe the effects of the heavy rainfall, calling it a "100-year flood."
Monday afternoon into the night, the pounding rain was merciless. Officials say parts of the Philadelphia region saw six to 10 inches in a period of three to four hours, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a rare flash flood emergency.
County officials say about nine inches fell in parts of lower Bucks.
Officials in Bensalem report 70 people were rescued by boat from their homes or from vehicles stuck in rising water. They say 40 of those rescues happened at Red Lion Road and Bristol Pike, on the border of lower Bucks and Northeast Philadelpia, the site of the Layafette Gardens condominium building. Flood water came in fast and furious at the low-lying complex.
It made for a frightening situation for many people. In nearby Bristol, residents were stunned by what they saw.
"I've been here 38 years and never saw so much at once," said one man to NBC 10.
"It was just unbelievable. The basement's flooded. My whole yard is flooded," said another.
A woman told NBC 10 about being rescued from her house by firefighters, saying, "Everything around my bed and everything was just full of water and puddles, and she was like, 'We have to get out.'"
Others were in similar situations all across this part of the region.
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Bucks County officials have not said if anyone was seriously hurt in the flooding.
A lot of people displaced by the floods are scrambling to figure out what happens next. Tuesday morning, Layafette Gardens residents were still not allowed back into the building.
The Red Cross set up an evacuation center at Snyder Middle School in Bensalem, where upwards of 50 people have been getting help.
More storms are possible Tuesday afternoon, causing some concern for an area that does not need any more rain.