4 million gallons flood streets after water main break in North Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A massive water main break in North Philadelphia left behind a crater in the road while flooding out cars and basements as millions of gallons of water rushed down the street.

It happened around 8:30 a.m. at 9th and Montgomery streets.

The Philadelphia Water Department says a 30-inch transmission main, which was constructed in the 1800s, burst there.

"Like a tidal wave, just kept coming and coming. Wouldn't stop," said Linda Berrian, who works nearby.

Mud marks were left behind on flooded-out cars as the water receded on 9th Street. Linda Berrian's BMW was one of them.

"You dream about this car, right? You want it, you work hard for it," she said.

The water department says four million gallons of water rushed out of the main in about two hours.

"It just blasts out the fill underneath the street, so that's going to be a huge part of the repair," said water department spokesman Brian Rademaekers. "It was first built in 1879. So it's a pretty old main."

As crews shovel the mud left behind by the flooding water, Boris Keisserman is left to figure out how to drain the pool now sitting in his basement.

"It's new construction. I just finished it a few months ago," he said. "There's three feet of water in the basement at least."