Credit: @colefurd/Twitter
Officials will spend Thursday assessing damage from the vicious remnants of Hurricane Ida and monitoring flooding on the Delaware River and Neshaminy Creek.
Both waterways flooded as Ida swept through the area, according to the National Weather Service.
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As of daybreak Thursday, the Neshaminy Creek at Playwicki Park in Middletown Township had reached 20 feet, well surpassing the flood stage of 9 feet.
Bucks County Emergency Management Agency officials worried of flooding on Bridle Drive in Middletown Township and in the area of West Lincoln Highway near Rising Sun Avenue. They also said flooding in Bristol Township’s Croydon section was possible.
“Please monitor the creek and take protective actions if necessary,” the urged.
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The National Weather Service forecasted the creek that runs from Central Bucks County to the Delaware River in Bristol Township’s Croydon section will recede through the weekend.
The creek level was only two feet below the record as of Thursday morning.
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The Delaware River had spilled its banks in Bristol Borough overnight with water pouring over the town’s famous waterfront.
The river gauge in Trenton registered 20.7 feet of water late Wednesday night. A forecast showed the river could reach 22.5 feet by 5 p.m. Thursday, with water returning to below flood stage by Saturday morning.
In Yardley Borough, the river and canal left their banks and officials requested a voluntary evacuation.
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The National said that through 8 p.m. Wednesday the area saw between 2 inches and 4.5 inches of rain. Town’s that feed into the Neshaminy Creek and Delaware River in and outside of Bucks County reportedly received 8 inches of rain or more.
While there was flooding across the Levittown area and numerous roads were blocked by water, there were a limited number of water rescues compared to central and upper Bucks County. Crews local to that area were aided by the Pennsylvania National Guard, a federal urban search and rescue team, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Credit: Jennifer Wisor
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In Middletown Township, police said officers pulled a woman from waist-deep water on Banks Road. The woman was trapped in her vehicle after the Core Creek flooded.
Thankfully, the areas that saw severe flooding during the July 12 flash flooding event in Bristol Borough and Bristol Township avoided serious flooding this time.
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The National Weather Service is expected to assess the path of a tornado that hit the area.
Kevin Dippolito, Bristol Township’s fire marshal and emergency management director, said his team saw the funnel cloud from the tornado from the municipal complex. While they heard it may have touched down by the Dow property in Croydon, there were no major reports of damage from the tornado, which caused devastation in New Jersey.
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It was unclear if it was related to the tornado, but a large section of roofing ripped off a building in the 200 block of Mill Street in Bristol Borough and landed on the ground and on a vehicle.
Despite the storms, the Levittown area saw about 700 PECO customers without service as of Wednesday night. That number was down to just a few dozen by early Thursday morning.
The weather was enough to cause many area schools to close for Thursday.
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Due to the damage, Bucks County government and courts were closed Thursday.
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