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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Intense rain that the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought to the Philadelphia region has ended, but the effects of flooding will linger for days. Most rivers and streams in the Philadelphia region are flooded, and many continued to swell Thursday morning.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey have declared storm emergencies as the region deals with the historic flooding. Suspected tornadoes caused widespread damage, one of them ripping homes apart in Mullica Hill, Gloucester County. And tens of thousands are without power, as utility crews work to get the lights back on.
Ida turns deadly
There are three confirmed deaths in Montgomery County from the storm, and one from Bucks County.
"We can confirm that a tree fell on a house in the township and there was a woman that lost her life as a result of the tree hitting that house," said Upper Dublin Police Chief Francis Wheatley.
There were two drowning deaths in Montgomery County: a man in Bridgeport, and another person in Skippack.
Another drowning death happened in Bucks County. Milford Township, Trumbauersville and Ottsville fire crews attempted to rescue multiple people on Trumbauersville Road, but they could not find one victim who was from Montgomery County until they discovered a driver dead inside their car.
"We’d had a lot of water rescues over the course of this storm, which puts a lot of people in danger, obviously not just the people who are needing to be rescued, but the staff who are who are having to do those rescues," Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie said.
Officials there said first responders received about 5,200 calls for assistance Wednesday. On a normal basis, they only receive about 1,500.
As of 5:15 p.m. Thursday, New Jersey saw 23 deaths from the storm.
Historic flooding on the Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River reached a new record on Thursday: The water level is the highest it has been 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.
The Schuylkill's 16-foot crest is lower than the 17 feet the National Weather Service had forecast, but it is far above its 11-foot flood stage.
The Schuylkill at Norristown also set a new flood record: 26.85 feet. The previous record was 25.1 feet in 1972. Last year during Hurricane Isaias, the river crested at 20.55 feet.
Water levels began to recede, slowly, around 9 a.m. Thursday, but not before the swollen river overtook Main Street in Manayunk, where the water rose 12 feet above normal.
Even in the early morning hours, residents came out to see the damage themselves and take pictures. The back deck of a bar appropriately named Mad River is gone. A pile of debris floated nearby at Main Street and Shurs Lane. A car also floated lazily in the flood water.
A longtime resident, Teddy, said he remembers record flooding from Hurricane Agnes in 1971, 50 years ago. He said that was nothing compared to what he saw Thursday morning.
A traffic engineer who stopped through to check a signal, visible just a foot above the water line, said a lot of signals were out along Main Street.
Flooding in Bucks and Montgomery counties
Civic leaders had asked people in flooded and flood-prone area to shelter in place, if they could do so safely — and to call 911 if they could not — until flood waters recede. Other municipalities were calling for residents to immediately evacuate, including areas near the Delaware Canal in Bucks County, and in parts of Chester and Montgomery counties.
The Delaware River spilled beyond its banks in the area of Bucks and Mercer counties. And other suburban waterways, including the Neshaminy and Brandywine creeks, also overflowed.
The Perkiomen Creek in Montgomery County crested around 2:30 a.m. or 3 a.m. Thursday, topping record flooding set during Isaias last August.
"It was bad last year, but it looks like someone just picked up the river and moved it into the middle of the road," said John Kirkbride, who lives on Route 29 in Collegeville, across from the creek.
The Collegeville Fire Department spent a good chunk of the night in a boat helping people from their homes along the creek, in more than a dozen water rescues.
Many drivers stopped to ask the best way to get over the creek, but there was no good answer, as most bridges were submerged.
By midmorning, the waters of the Perkiomen began receding, showing the scars left behind on nearby homes and businesses.
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On the bright side, Ida didn't cause the kind of wind damage reported on the other side of Montgomery County, near Upper Dublin and Fort Washington.
Lower Bucks County, which already had its fair share of damage from Mother Nature this summer, had more flooding from the storms. The rising and raging Neshaminy Creek flooded a stretch of Bristol Road by Old Lincoln Highway in Bensalem.
"This is unprecedented. I can’t believe it. I’m actually kinda shaking a little bit, looking at it all," said Mark Reilly, who works for his friend’s auto body shop nearby.
Reilly said the shop took on several feet of water from the creek. He and his colleagues have dealt with flooding through the years, so they thought they had a good game plan.
"We came down here, did the best we could yesterday to lift things up off the ground, thinking they’re gonna be safe. We moved cars, put them on high ground, thinking they’re gonna be safe," he said.
"And they’re underwater."
That includes thousands of dollars' worth of brand-new equipment. Thursday morning, all Reilly and his team could do was wait for the flood to recede to see how bad the damage is.
"We can't get to it," he said. "And God knows what’s in the water."
As of 5 a.m. Thursday, no South Jersey waterways were at flood stage. The Rancocas Creek, which normally floods in storms of this magnitude, is not expected to flood out htis time.
Water rescues
Despite warnings to the public to avoid flooded areas, crews have had to perform countless water rescues across the region and in Philadelphia.
One rescue operation was visible from the KYW Newsradio newsroom in Center City. Shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday, first responders from the Philadelphia Fire Department rescued a person who was trapped in the rising waters of the Schuykill River under the Market Street bridge.
The man, who is yet unidentified, was able to stay above the surface in total darkness by balancing himself on a beam. First responders reached him in a small inflatable boat and took him away to safety in a stretcher. His condition is unclear.
"Right now, our water rescue teams are staying mobile. They’re a very scarce resource, but one we’re thankful that we have," said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel overnight.
He said they gad lined up evacuation buses and overnight shelters out of caution, while water rescue teams were also on standby.
"We really want those water rescue assets to be available for folks who don’t have a choice who were in their homes," Thiel said. "So, again, if you see a flooded road, turn around, don't drown, particularly if it’s dark."
Power outages in Pa. and N.J.
The storm's strong winds and torrential rain caused many residents to lose power. According to PECO, nearly 54,000 customers are dealing with outages.
About 37,000 of those people are in Montgomery County, 7,300-hundred are in Chester County, and more than 400 are in Delaware County. Between PECO and PPL, about 7,000 customers in Bucks County are without power.
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Meanwhile in New Jersey, more than 26,000 PSE&G customers are experiencing outages as well. The company also says that gas crews have been dispatched to shut off natural gas supplies to prevent emergencies.
Atlantic City Electric says nearly 1,800 customers are without power, mostly in Gloucester County.
Constant road closures and detours in the Delaware Valley
Police and emergency crews were out blocking flooded roads throughout the county and helping pull stranded drivers out of their vehicles.
"Car after car after car, this is like a full traffic jam here on our street," said Kristen Lohr, who lives in Whitemarsh Township.
In fact, there was so much flooding, downed trees and wires and blocked roads that it took upwards of three hours to drive from Whitemarsh Township to Upper Dublin Township during the height of the storm.
That drive usually takes about 15 minutes.
Many roads in the area were still underwater and closed as of 11 a.m. Thursday. Major roads leading into Philadelphia area also closed, including the Schuylkill Expressway, the Vine Street Expressway.
Kelly Drive is closed between Strawberry Mansion Bridge and Falls Bridge. And Lincoln Drive is closed from Wissahickon Avenue to Kelly Drive. MLK Drive has been closed since Wednesday night because of flooding, as well as Columbus Boulevard north of Penn's Landing. Ridge Avenue is also shut from Main Street to Alleghany.
PA-309 was closed both ways at the turnpike tolls. Route 1 southbound was blocked from Route 202 to the Brandywine Creek with more flooding. The Admiral Wilson Boulevard is closed to the west of Baird Boulevard in Camden for flooding.
Changes can be expected flood levels rise and fall.
Delaware River bridges remained open through the morning.
For mass transit lines, watch for delays, because of all of the flooding throughout the region.