Fast‑moving storm floods streets in Wynnefield

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A fast-moving storm swept through the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia, leaving behind flooded streets, damaged homes and vehicles, and residents unsure how they will recover financially.

Neighbors said the area around 58th Street and Lebanon Avenue looked like a disaster zone after heavy rain quickly overwhelmed the streets.

"I don't have no car. I don't know how I'm gonna get to work for my kids," said Alexis Butler. "When I looked out the window, I was devastated. I have kids to feed. I gotta go to work. I work in Delaware."

Omar Hand described the scene as surreal. "Like - almost the end of the world, I thought. Yeah, it was devastating," he said.

More than a dozen parked cars were pushed by rushing water.

"My son looked out the window, and my son said, 'Dad, your car is drifting.' And of course, my son's 10, so I'm thinking he's joking," Ryan Fortson said. "I looked outside - my car drifted from there all the way to that side of the pole," he said.

Another resident, Basil Jubilee, said the water moved two of his parked vehicles.

"Next thing you know I saw all of our cars over here just come down the block," he said.

Video recorded by a neighbor showed the flooding just 45 minutes earlier, shortly after the storm passed.

"Basically, we stopped for the rain. Before we knew it, in a matter of seconds the car was flooded and underwater," Omar Hand said.

Inside nearby homes, the damage was just as severe. Qiana Futrell said water filled her first floor. "It was up to my thighs. I lost everything. Literally everything," she said. "My insurance don't cover it. I don't know how I'm gonna recover."

Her family started aGoFundMe for her.

Across Wynnefield, residents reported widespread damage. A vehicle was submerged in a flooded roadway at 54th Street and City Avenue, though crews were able to push it out. A massive tree fell on Upland Way near Drexel Road, and another split and collapsed onto a house at 58th Street and Malvern Avenue.

Neighbors say the storm left just as quickly as it arrived.

"I did see the beginning of it, and it looked like it was a tornado - you could not see outside," Fortson said.