Storm cleanup continues in West Philadelphia, thousands still without power

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Cleanup continues across the region after powerful storms raced through the area in a matter of minutes Saturday afternoon.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker announced a declaration of disaster emergency because of the damage in the city.

"I'm 55 years old. In all my years, I've never seen devastation like this," said Tyrone Peterkin of West Philadelphia.

Action News Reporter Sharifa Jackson met Peterkin at Carroll Park, an area in West Philadelphia that was hit especially hard by the storm.

Trees are down at almost every corner, debris covering the sidewalks, swing sets and slide.

"There's more trees down than up in here. This was always a park you could come and there's always shade and what not. Going to be a while before we have shade in this one again," said Peterkin.

"We will be calling on volunteers to do the cleanup of branches, sweeping, maybe we'll have a big neighborhood barbecue to celebrate our re-grand opening," said President of Friends of Carroll Park, Cheri Harrison.

PECO had been busy working to restore power to the thousands of customers impacted by outages.

Thousands are still without power, including families on Thompson Street in West Philadelphia.

"It's everywhere. Trees are down everywhere," said Faith Wooten.

As of 10 a.m. Sunday morning, crews had yet to address the large tree outside her home on 56th & Thompson that toppled over and totaled her mother's car.

"It was shocking, the car just got paid off," said Wooten. "Thank God we're ok. We're safe."

There are also big problems at Christin Stronghold Baptist Church located at 47th & Lancaster Avenue after damage left the front entrance inaccessible.

Despite the damage, service was still held at 8:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.

As far as cleanup, the city continues to prioritize trees blocking roadways.