Delaware County officials make 6 water rescues after severe Sunday storms

RADNOR, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The Delaware County area saw a series of severe storms on Sunday that left water flooding the streets and downed trees throughout the county.

Radnor Fire Chief Joseph Maguire told Action News four cars were floating in the area near the Radnor War Memorial.

The area is known to flood, but Maguire said he was surprised by how quickly it all happened.

Maguire said the water rose about four feet and within 45 minutes; emergency crews had six water rescues and removed five people from their vehicles.

Aside from the water, trees fell throughout the area. One went through a home.

According to Maguire, there were no injuries reported from the incident, but people were shaken up.

There were roughly 10 to 15 firefighters and EMS workers ready to respond if more inclement weather struck, as well as people trained in swift water rescue.

READ | Severe storms roll through Montgomery County, leaving disaster behind

In Wayne, residents said flooding in some areas is common, but they have never seen it this bad.

"I never really expected to walk outside and see people's cars floating down the road," said Pastor Greg Impink from Wayne.

Impink says the quick, heavy downpours on Sunday happened during his service at Wayne United Methodist Church.

"There were some church members who were parked along the street and for some of them, their cars got picked up and moved," he said. "For other people, they just happen to be driving down the road before it got shut down."

The rain didn't just get into people's cars, however.

"Got some water in the house. Not a happy day," said Andrew Tetris from Wayne.

Neighbors say this all comes after the township just completed its $5.4 million South Wayne Avenue Flood Reduction project to prevent this problem from happening.

"It was a long time coming, I would have liked to see it work a little better," said Tetris.

Action News reached out to the township commissioner but did not hear back.

In the meantime, experts have a major reminder for people in the area: do not drive or walk through flooded areas.

Not only can you ruin your car, but officials say if you can't see the ground, you don't know what's underneath the water and you can get hurt.