Wild rainstorms lash area, causing flood waters to rise
It was certainly a manic Monday for commuters in Delaware County as a result of torrential downpours that flooded dozens of local roadways, sparking a series of water rescues after cars got stuck in the quickly rising water.
The morning rush hour was met with pools of water at the usual low-lying spots throughout the county, leaving drivers looking for detours, or, for a few, looking for help in cars that stalled out trying to traverse deeper-than-expected waters.
“This morning was busy because of the flooding,” said Deputy Director of County Emergency Services Ed Beebe late Monday morning. “Between 6, until 9, we were really taking on a higher volume of calls.”
Beebe said the frequent flood spots like Route 291 and Stewart Avenue in Ridley Township, Bartram Avenue by Oak Lane in the Briarcliffe section of Darby Township, and Route 420 under the Amtrak/SEPTA train tracks in Prospect Park were again flooded on Monday morning. A handful of vehicle water rescues were initiated, but no injuries were reported.
Additional calls reported to the county 911 Center included basement flooding where local fire departments were dispatched sump pump services.
In Ridley Park, a number of houses along the 300 block of East Rogers Street received several feet of water in their basements. Ridley Park Police Sgt. James Nasella described the scene as waterfalls pouring down the steps into basements. for Residents approached Nasella about the flooding, saying it was in part to work that CSX was doing on the railroad tracks that run parallel to their homes.
CSX spokeswoman Katie Chimelewski said there has been no construction done on company rails in that area for weeks with no work force or equipment present. The last known work reported by the engineering team was to be a ditch digger who went through “weeks and weeks ago.” Chimelewski suggests residents who may be experiencing problems on their property because of something that may be attributed to CSX property to call 800-232-0144.
Nasella said that block of Rogers Street is not a frequent flood area in the borough. Ridley Park Fire Department helped pump out the basements with PECO on standby to check the electrical and gas connections.
Unlike the storms of March, where high winds toppling trees and knocked out power to tens of thousands, no trees were reported down to county emergency services. At 4 p.m. PECO was reporting less than 300 power outages throughout the county.
Almost 3 inches of rain has fallen at the Philadelphia International Airport from Sunday evening to Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
The county emergency services prepped for the rainstorm by putting an appropriate number of staff on to process all of the calls that came in.
“It didn’t inundate us,” said Beebe. A considerable dropoff in calls was reported after 9 a.m. when the sun started to break through the clouds. “We saw (the rain) coming, we knew it was coming.”
From mild temps greeting the end of the week to rain and 40-degree temperatures starting this week, Beebe described the weather as being simply “crazy.”
“I think we’re done with it,” said Beebe. “We do what we do at emergency services and we deal with it. We’d love a nice streak of 80 degree days.”
There was still a flood watch throughout the county through Monday evening rush hour as a second wave of showers passed through. Beebe said the county had weathered the brunt of it by morning and they were ready for more rain later on in the day.