Mount Holly was hit with about six inches of rain in about 12 hours, with the biggest deluge coming during severe storms overnight.
The rainfall was too much for the Buttonwood Run, a small nearby creek. The water rose some five to six feet, flooded its banks, and blew out the foundation walls of the house.
"The creek overflowed, we got some water into the basement of the house and it apparently caused a sinkhole in the front of the house," said Capt. Kevin Gimeno of the Mount Holly Fire Department.
"It took out part of the basement wall, took out the sidewalk, took out a good portion of the yard."
The owner of the property said it is a rental property and he found out about the damage via a phone call early Tuesday.
The resident said he was asleep and was unaware of the damage until someone knocked on his door.
The same surge of water that damaged the home swept past neighbor Dan Steven's home. The water washed out some of his driveway but didn't touch the house.
"I am pretty happy it went down and to the right because if it hadn't, it probably would have washed my foundation away, too," Stevens said.
Work is expected to start soon to plug the hole and repair of the foundation.
