PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The region was pummeled with torrential rain Tuesday night, leaving behind damage from wind and floods and creating headaches for commuters. People in tens of thousands of Delaware Valley homes and businesses were forced to dig out candles and flashlights when the storm knocked out power to much of the region.
Utility companies were slowly restoring electrical service throughout Wednesday. With sustained winds around 20 mph and gusts to 45 mph, officials warned tree limbs and other loose items could still be blown down and cause further power outages.
PECO reported around 35,000 customers without power around 3 p.m., down from nearly 90,000 early Wednesday morning. About 21,000 of them were in Chester County. Atlantic City Electric reported nearly 14,000 customers in the dark, down from about 20,000. About 5,000 of them were in Gloucester County. And PSE&G reported about 2,900 customers in our region without power, including around 680 in Camden.
Powerless in Chester County
Philadelphia saw a record-setting 2.09 inches of rain overnight. Drenching rain throughout the region led to extensive flooding, putting homes underwater and rendering roads impassable.
The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management announced just before 3 p.m. that Columbus Boulevard and Lincoln Drive had reopened after the Streets Department removed mud and debris.
Philadelphia Police and the Streets Department report Kelly Drive between Falls Bridge and Ferry Drive will likely remain closed overnight into Thursday.
At its peak, PECO said, power outages affected more than 29,000 customers in Chester County. By the end of Wednesday morning’s commute, most large debris had been removed from back roads, but the lights were still out for many people on the Main Line.
Reagan Dolan was staying at her mother's house when they lost power. They were told they wouldn't get it back until more than 24 hours later.
It’s an inconvenience, says Dolan's mother, Kerry, but she's thankful there was no damage to her home. "It's not the end of the world. Life's good, and life could be a lot more difficult," she said. "We're happy to have all the support we have to help us through these kinds of things."
Water rescues in South Jersey
By 3 p.m., with water levels gradually receding, the National Weather Service reported that areas around the northern part of Barnegat Bay in New Jersey, including Bayshore and Mantoloking, were still above moderate flood stage, and a coastal flood warning would still be in effect into the evening.
The Schuylkill River in Philadelphia and Norristown crested a few feet below major flood stage but at a level higher than seen in recent years.
The Delaware River hit a historic high overnight, measuring 10.66 feet near Washington Avenue in Philadelphia, breaking the previous record of 10.6 feet in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy.
Just across the river in hard-hit Burlington County, rising water levels from torrential rain and high tide prompted nine water rescues, according to county officials. Dozens of people living in neighborhoods along the Delaware faced voluntary evacuations as they cleaned up and assessed their losses.
One of those homeowners was volunteer firefighter James Otis. He lives on Alden Avenue, near the confluence of the Delaware River and Rancocas Creek. Otis says he was running from call to call in Delran when he got the report that his street was flooded.
"I convinced my family to evacuate the house. It’s a single-floor so every room had 6 inches of water,” Otis said. “At the highest point, it was about 4.5 feet of water around my house.”
Norma Ward, another Aldan Avenue resident, said her basement seemed to flood all at once.
“At 11:30, I checked. It wasn’t there. And then when I woke up at 3:30, we were flooded. So there’s really no warning. It comes when it comes.”
County officials say 50 homes in Delran were affected.
“This is the worst I’ve seen in 13 years,” said Otis, adding this flood caused him more damage than Superstorm Sandy.
Exasperation and evacuation
Heavy rain pushed creeks and tributaries past their banks, prompting four water rescues in Montgomery County and six in Bucks County. And high water and strong winds forced more than 100 road closures.
Conshohocken and Norristown saw more than 4 inches of rainfall. King of Prussia had 3.78 inches. Lower Moreland Township experienced fierce wind gusts of 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
The Perkiomen Creek in Montgomery County crested at about 13.5 feet around 5 a.m. — the third time since Dec. 18 that the creek has topped its 13-foot flood stage. Water spilled over area bridges, prompted closures on Plank Road and Graterford Road, and forced Perkiomen Valley School District to cancel classes for the second time in a month.
The water receded, and roads reopened, by late morning.
The Montgomery County Department of Public Safety says, while water levels in both the creek and the Schuylkill River in Pottstown and Norristown continue to go down, they’re not likely to recede to normal levels before the next forecasted heavy rains later this week, and high winds are still a concern.
Darby Creek in Delaware County flooded for the second time in less than a month. Jacqueline Sumter spent the evening and early morning on pins and needles watching the creek rise and eventually flood.
Sumter moved to the area from Philadelphia in August and says she has already seen enough flooding to question that decision.
“I guess this is the second time the block’s been shut off and we can’t get off the block,” she said.
Darby Police Chief Joseph Gabe said more than a dozen people ere evacuated from their homes. The Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at Darby Borough Recreation Center, where Stewart Moore and his wife spent the night with their dog.
“I was sleeping and they woke me up about a quarter after 7 last night. I’ve been here since,” he said.
The water in their home was nearly knee-high when they left, but Moore said he was not prepared for what they saw when they returned Wednesday morning.
“Walked down to my apartment, checked it out, opened the door … and there was about an inch of mud in my apartment,” he said. “Where am I going to live for the next couple of weeks until my apartment gets fixed? I don’t know where I’m going to go.”
Officials are working to get displaced people back into their homes as the water subsides.