Trees, power lines down as another storm leaves its mark on Philly area
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Powerful storms rolled through the Philadelphia region on Wednesday night and left some familiar damage in their wake.
Just one example of the storm's fingerprints is visible in Philly's Wissinoming neighborhood, on Charles Street near Comly Street, the wind lifted two enormous sycamore trees out of the ground, punching through the sidewalk, crumbling slabs of heavy concrete like they were crackers. The trees are 90 years old, according to the woman who lives at the property.
Both fell in the direction of Wissinoming Park and wiped out power lines before slamming onto the pavement.
Luckily no one was around because it was raining heavily at the time.
But Kevin, out walking his dog Thursday morning, said this dangerous situation could have been much worse for the people who live on the block.
"It could have went either way," he said. "It could have went right into somebody's house and do a lot of damage."
The entire street is closed off, and the cars parked there won't be able to get away any time soon.
Elsewhere in the city's northeast, houses were spared, but not cars. In nearby Frankford, a tree slammed into car, which actually held the tree up, preventing it from falling further.
At Ramp Playground, metal bleachers blew from the sidelines onto Father Judge High School's football field. They landed a twisted heap between the 30 yard and 50 yard lines.
The wind also took down part of a tree and pushed soccer goals around the field.
On Hellerman Street near Summerdale Avenue in the Oxford Circle section of Northeast Philly, a huge tree fell onto a single car.
Joseph Ingram lives nearby and says the says wind was fierce on Wednesday and that tree, which had its roots poking out of the ground already, had no chance of staying standing.
"Knocked it right on over. That was crazy. It was loud, though. That was one of the loudest noises I heard. I thought it was a bomb or something," he said. "All this wind. I’m like, 'Oh, snap!' So, I was in the back and heard this loud crash like boom!"
There are no reports so far of injuries from storm damage.
