Day After: Storm leaves destruction in its wake
What a difference a day makes.
On Thursday a deluge of rainwater swelled local creeks to overflowing flash floods that pushed water up into basements from storm drains and even moved cars.
While in Delawaware County the damage was mostly reserved to flooded intersections and some downed trees, the storm hit much harder in Montgomery and Chester counties, with property damage and even loss of life. A pregnant mother and her 9-year-old son were killed in Berks County when the raging waters of the Manatawny Creek swept their car off the road.
One day later, with the sun shining, the cleanup and the damage assessment began.
“The water was 6 feet in my basement,” said Erin Weber, clad in fishing waders as he pumped out his basement at the corner of Walnut and Manatawny streets in Pottstown.
“We lost washer, dryer, fridge, microwave, all our Christmas decorations and all our wedding photos,” said Weber.
“I’ve been telling my wife we need to downsize, and it looks like the creek made that decision for us,” he said.
Pottstown Fire Chief Frank P. Hand praised the reaction of the borough’s emergency crews.
“We were stretched really thin, it all came on so fast,” he said as he talked with residents cleaning their homes.
Just ask Bryan Smith, who was eating a sandwich on the porch of 20 Walnut St. Friday.
“We drove down from upstate New York, through the rain, to visit,” he said. “I was sitting on the back porch and my sister-in-law was sweeping and I said, why is the water coming this way?”
Smith went to the front door “and there was a policeman there who said ‘It’s time to leave.’”
Thirty minutes after arriving from New York, he was carrying his 2-yearold niece, Sophia Barker, through knee-deep water to safety.
“Our first call that came in was to assist with the rescue up in Douglass, so we had resources up there and had to keep them there even as things got worse back here,” said Hand. “So we were helped out by West End and Collegeville fire companies.”
Although other municipalities issued warnings with their electronic alert systems, Pottstown did not.
Hand said that the police acted so quickly in evacuating about 30 homes on Walnut Street, “we had everyone accounted for,” that issuing the warning seemed unnecessary. “But in hindsight, we talked about it this morning and I realize we should probably issue one no matter what,” he said.
They were also quite busy.
Hand said there were between 15 to 20 water rescues in the borough alone, mostly from cars stranded on High Street near College Drive.
A block away, Lauren Mohn was filling orders at the Ice House Deli “when I looked out the window and saw the creek was up at the King Street bridge. So I went upstairs and told the owners, and they looked out and said ‘yup. Time to close.’”
“We had sandbags ready, but we just got an inch or two under the door, but people kept calling for orders,” Mohn said with a laugh. “In fact, we had a few we had filled already when we closed and people walked through the water to get their food.”
The popular eatery was open for business Friday morning. “We’ve got to be here for our customers,” said Mohn.
And while the water receded quickly in most places, the College Drive underpass beneath the freight rail tracks remained full of water Friday and the damage to the roadway is becoming evident.
Another road that remains closed is Old Schuylkill Road in East Coventry Township.
A deluge of water overwhelmed a culvert beneath the roadway and tore out the pavement between Route 724 and Peterman Road, leaving a gaping canyon which will require extensive repairs.
In other parts of the county, such as Green Lane, residents had been working all day Friday, surveying the damage, pumping out water and wondering what their next step is going to be. Some homeowners said it was the worst flooding they’ve ever seen in the area.
“I’ve been here a very long time. I’ve lived here over 50 years and never, ever, ever have I seen it this bad. Even in ‘72 with Agnes it wasn’t this bad. It never flooded that it entered my home and I had about eight inches of water in my home last night,” said Robin Reinert, who owns a home on Lumber Street in Green Lane.
Reinert described the damage as she pointed to a shed that had drifted into her backyard from one of her neighbor’s houses. In the backyard of an adjoining house, a deck lay destroyed from the floodwaters surrounded by piles of other yard debris that had been tossed around in the storm.
Reinert added that not only was the flooding the worst she’s ever seen but it came on too quickly for her to save anything. Craig Hirthler, who was renting a garage from Reinert behind her home had a similar story to tell.
“I rented this garage from Robin about two years ago and I had these two cars in here — a ‘65 Corvette and a ‘59 Bel-Air. I stopped here about 20 minutes before I came back over and the water was only up to the edge of the creek. About 15 minutes later I got a phone call
“I’ve lived here over 50 years and never, ever, ever have I seen it this bad. Even in ‘72 with Agnes it wasn’t this bad.”
— Robin Reinert, Green Lane resident
saying I better get over here and by the time I got here, the water was knee high,” said Hirthler.
Hirthler said he managed to get the Corvette out but when he returned for the Bel-Air, the water had reached the dashboard.
“It came up so quickly that we couldn’t do anything to prevent anything. It was pretty devastating and I’m pretty sure I lost just about everything,” said Reinert