PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A massive apartment complex along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway has been evacuated due to rising floodwaters from the Schuylkill River.
Flooding from a completely submerged Vine Street Expressway flowed into Park Towne Place on 22nd Street. It started with a couple inches in the parking lot area. Residents moved their cars and didn't think much else of it.
Then, water quickly moved under the building where the electrical panels are located. Management shut off the electricity around 11 a.m.
Residents received alerts all day but were finally evacuated with little notice, with the situation described as “deteriorating conditions.”
“We just got an alert that electricity will be shut off, and then 30 minutes later, they said we should leave the building — everyone — in an emergency evacuation,” said Vicky, a resident.
Others grabbed the bare minimum of essentials, along with any pets they might have, and got out.
"Just grabbed all the essentials," one resident said. "We're not sure when the power is going to be restored."
The basement was flooded, and PECO officials, contractors and fire crews were working to pump the water out.
The American Red Cross was also there helping relocate residents, at least until the water recedes.
The four towers of the apartment complex house hundreds of people in more than 900 units. It can be seen from the highway, as it sits next to the Vine Street Expressway — which is currently underwater.
PennDOT crews are also pumping the expressway. There’s no estimate on when I-676 will reopen.
The Schuylkill River in Philadelphia reached its highest crest in the past 152 years. It was observed at just over 16 feet, making it the second-highest crest of the river in Philadelphia’s recorded history.
The last time it was nearly this high was Oct. 4, 1869, at 17 feet.
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This is a developing story.