Maureen Walko and her husband Thomas have lived in Periwinkle Avenue in Middletown Township for 42 years.
But after their latest battle with flooding from the nearby Neshaminy Creek Wednesday and Thursday, Maureen thinks it might be time to finally get out.
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“This was the worst since (Hurricane) Floyd in 1999,” said Maureen as she and Thomas worked at cleaning up Thursday. “It came up so fast I don’t think anyone really had time to get stuff out of the way. It’s just overwhelming to think of the physical work it will take to get things back to normal.”
The story was similar in many spots along the Neshaminy in Lower Bucks County Thursday as the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped four to eight inches of rain on the county Wednesday night and 10 inches in some spots, county officials said.
The Neshaminy crested at 20.84 feet, more than six feet above major flood stage and less than two feet below the record of 22.8 feet, they added. County officials have also warned residents to be wary of rising waters in the Delaware River, which was expected to crest at 15 feet somewhere between 6 and 8 p.m. Thursday.
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The National Weather Service said the Neshaminy Creek is expected to fall below flood stage by morning on Friday.
While most houses on Periwinkle and adjacent Bridle Drive have been elevated because of frequent flooding, waters from the rampaging Neshaminy did damage to basements and garages on both streets and ruined many possessions stored there, residents said.
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Maureen Walko said she and her husband had discontinued their flood insurance after paying off the mortgage on their house, so the expense of repair, clean up and replacement is all theirs.
Credit: Chris English/LevittownNow.com
“Someone on Bridle had to be rescued in a helicopter,” she said. “But we’re raised up so water didn’t get into our main living areas, and we still have electricity, so that’s something.”
Just down the street, Periwinkle Avenue resident Kristie Ferguson said she was shocked by the speed of the flooding. Water from the Neshaminy had receded by early Thursday afternoon, but it still surrounded her house on Periwinkle and completely covered Bridle Drive.
Credit: Chris English/LevittownNow.com
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“There was no warning from the county or township or anything,” said Ferguson, who like the Walkos said she had several feet of water enter her basement.
“The only reason I knew it was going to flood was by talking to neighbors. There’s a lot of bad stuff going on. This really stinks. But I love it here. I have flood insurance. If this only happens once every 10 years or so, I can deal with it.”
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Shawn Stewart, who rents a house near the Neshaminy in the Newportville section of Bristol Township, said this was his first experience with flooding.
“There’s four feet of water in the basement,” he said. “It’s horrible. My buddy nearby had to be rescued in a boat. My wife woke me up at 3 a.m. (Thursday) to have me look at where the water was, and I said don’t worry about it, but by 4:30 a.m. it was coming in the back door. A lot of our stuff is lost.”
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County officials warned people to be aware of more flooding problems later Thursday and Friday, and cautioned people not to attempt driving through flooded streets.
“The Delaware River and Neshaminy Creek are areas of concern,” said Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie. “If you need to, please move to higher ground.”
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First responders conducted numerous water rescues throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday, they added.
“This is catastrophic,” Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo said. “If it wasn’t for our emergency crews, the devastation would have been worse.”
County officials said that between 3 p.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday, more than 2,000 emergency calls were placed to Bucks County 9-1-1. In addition, more than 3,000 non-emergency calls were placed to dispatchers.
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Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a possible storm-related death in Milford Township, which sits in Upper Bucks County, county officials said.
Troopers said the 65-year-old man went missing from a 2013 Mazda that drove into the floodwaters of the Unami Creek. Police and firefighters attempted to get to the vehicle and did get a 54-year-old woman out of the car, but the man’s body was not recovered from inside the vehicle until Thursday around 6 a.m.
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Those who need shelter can contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767 for assistance.
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