Heavy rain, flooding impacts residents across the Philadelphia region
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Flooding impacted residents across the Philadelphia region Monday morning after a night of heavy rain.
While the heaviest rain ended by midday, concerns continued throughout the day.
While the Schuylkill River has crested across the region, the remnants of Monday's flooding continue. Residents are advised to stay clear of areas that typically flood and not to drive through standing water.
Kelly Drive remains closed Tuesday morning near Midvale Avenue. The water has receded but the road is covered in mud.
Outside of the city in Darby Borough, residents on the 900 block of Springfield Road were evacuated due to the rising water.
You could see the high levels of Darby Creek at MacDade Blvd., where debris was trapped under the bridge. PennDOT crews responded with heavy equipment to clear the clogged waterway.
Darby Borough Police Chief Joseph Gabe said the flooding began around 3:15 a.m. and they closed the street.
"They told us to get out and I had to real quick get dressed and get my dog so we could get out," said Rich Moore of Darby Borough.
"When we went to bed last night, I told my wife and my daughter, 'This don't look good' and here we go," said Darby resident Joe Allsman.
In Collingdale, a resident, who only identified herself as Geraldine, said she and about nine other families had to be evacuated from Florence Street after the creek behind their block backed up and sent water gushing into their homes.
She says all the water caused damage to her basement and roof.
"I've been on the block for about 20 years so, this is the first time I've ever seen the water come down the street like it did," said Geraldine.
Her neighbor, Massa Johnson, says she had to get out quickly with her three children. They're now staying with a friend as she tries to figure out how to get her flooded house back in order.
"To go to sleep and wake up this morning with this type of disaster and you don't know where to start. It's hard," said Johnson.
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Nearby Collingdale business, Cappuccino Connection, flooded. The coffee products were ruined and equipment was submerged.
The county's director of emergency services said, historically, there has been significant flooding there and in other nearby areas, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is developing plans for a levee to hopefully alleviate the problem.
"The levee project is underway. It's in design," said Timothy Boyce, the director of emergency services. "This is going to reinforce the need to do something here in Delaware County and southwest Philadelphia."
Since Sunday, we've had 2.91" of rain in Philadelphia, over 3" in Downingtown, nearly 3" in South Jersey and over 4" in Poconos, according to AccuWeather.
The strongest winds were east of the city, with a 62 mph gust in Brigantine Monday morning.
In New Jersey, a Mt. Ephraim firetruck got stuck in flooding while assisting with numerous water rescues. It happened around 5 a.m. in the 600 block of Fairview Street in Camden.
On Main Street in Vincentown, New Jersey, several cars were spotted driving through the flooded roadway. Emergency officials say it's important to stop at barricades.
"Any flooded road they come across for the most part we've blocked them off, so if roads are blocked off just obey that. Turn around, don't drown is the saying that we go with," said Eamonn Fitzpatrick-Ruth, the emergency management coordinator for Southhampton Township.
The high winds and heavy rain also caused a tree to fall on numerous cars and brought down Christmas decorations. It happened around 6:30 a.m. in the 200 block of Girard Avenue in Horsham, Pennsylvania. No one was injured.
You can get real-time traffic updates at: https://6abc.com/traffic. Get your full forecast here.
