WAKE OF THE FLOOD
Storm upends life in the Perkiomen Valley; 4 Montco residents died Residents begin massive cleanup effort after historic flooding event
Flood-weary residents continued to pick through the damage left by Ida’s floodwaters Friday and fewer places were harder hit in the area than along the Perkiomen Creek and middle Schuylkill River.
Cars were upended and submerged. Roads were ripped up and bridges were overrun.
Houses were severely damaged, including one that was swept from the 9-foot pylons that were supposed to protect it from floods and into Perkiomen Creek.
Montgomery County officials attributed at least four deaths on the storm, one of them in the central part of the county.
“Craig Messinger, 70, of Schwenksville, was found dead in Skippack Township after midnight, in the early morning hours of Thursday,” according to the county. “His cause of death was listed as drowning; officials had previously indicated an individual had died in the county while driving in floodwaters,” according to the site.
During the storm, Montgomery County reported 467 water rescues being dispatched, many of which involved the rescue of multiple individuals.
Approximately 12,000 customers are still without power in Montgomery County as of 4 p.m. Friday.
“We have lived in Spring Mount since 1978. We have seen many bad storms and flooding through the years. This Ida was the worst for our area.”
_ Joyce Hegeman Connelly
Every Montgomery County park with the word “Perkiomen” in its name is closed — Upper Perkiomen Valley Park, Central Perkiomen Valley Park and Lower Perkiomen Valley Park, as well as Lock 60 in Mont Clare — all were closed Friday.
Fully 12 county bridges, many in the Perkiomen Creek watershed, were listed as closed by 4:30 p.m. Friday.
At one point, 11 roads were closed in Upper Providence Township, as was First Avenue in Royersford.
The historic flooding also damaged historic treasures.
Valley Forge National Historic Park reported flood damage to the basement and kitchen areas of Washington’s Headquarters in the park.
Photos showed the floodwaters at least to the first floor and higher at the 220-year-old Perkiomen Hotel in Collegeville.
And nowhere was both the devastation and people’s willingness to help, more evident than on ubiquitous social media sites.
“We have lived in Spring Mount since 1978. We have seen many bad storms and flooding through the years,” posted Joyce Hegeman Connelly. “This Ida was the worst for our area.”
Many photos were posted on a Facebook page devoted to the Perkiomen Trail, as were pleas for and offers of help.
U.S. Rep. Joe Ciresi, D146th Dist., posted that Perkiomen Valley High School was being offered up for several hours Friday as a place where flood victims could come and get a shower.
Melissa Alexander Willson posted “if anybody needs supplies, the Upper Providence Township Community Center in Collegeville(499 Hopwood Road) is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with supplies donated by the community. They have clothes, towels, blankets, food, and water to name a few things.”
Some people may need just about everything because they lost just about everything.
Particularly hard hit was Penn Drive, a small cul-desac off Creek Road on the east side of Perkiomen Creek.
Bob Nyce told MediaNews Group the floodwaters reached his roof and his house “is a total teardown.”
Nyce and his wife have lived in the home since 2002 and they thought the floods from Isaias last year were bad enough.
Ida’s 8-foot flood surge was worse.
“It came and it came with force,” Nyce said, speaking from his son’s RV, parked at the top of the road.
“It blew out one wall” and carried away a piece of furniture he estimated to weigh 800 pounds. “I have no idea where it is, it’s just gone,” he said. Another equally heavy piece was out on his front lawn.
“I can’t get into the house because the washing machine and refrigerator are jammed up against the front door,” Nyce said.
Nyce and his wife evacuated Wednesday night “as soon as the waters started to rise up the bank,” and came back to find their house destroyed.
They do not have flood insurance.
“We’re hoping FEMA will buy it or at least pay to knock it down,” he said.
Nyce’s neighbors, the Weikel family, had a similar experience. “Everything on the first floor is destroyed. Our floors are buckling, the steps are blown out and we’re worried the whole house is going to collapse,” said Amanda Weikel.
“We’ve lived here for 17 years and this is the worst I’ve ever seen,” she said.
To make matters worse, Weikel said Friday, “we were getting the house ready to sell and the home inspector was schedule to come today,” she said.
Her daughter Lilly was
downstairs watching the news Wednesday night “and they were saying the water levels would be about what they were last year,” said Lilly Weikel.
“Then I went to the door and the water was already above the front step and I was freaking out,” she said.
She called the police and the Skippack Fire Department arrived to rescue the whole household, including her 200-pound great Dane Diesel.
“I said I was not leaving without my dog and they carried him out. We owe them our lives,” Lilly Weikel said.
She has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help the family get back on its feet.
They aren’t the only ones who need help.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety had received 932 reports of damage from the storm.
If your home or business was damaged during the storm, it can be reported to http://montcopa.org/ida
If you need assistance, you can the Hurricane Ida Crisis Cleanup Hotline at (844) 965-1386.
Assistance can be provided cutting fallen trees, removing affected drywall, flooring, and appliances, tarping roofs and mitigating mold.
These services are performed by volunteers and will be provided at no cost to the resident, according to the county.