(6:30 p.m.) Here’s a complete list of road closures in Philadelphia, provided by the city Office of Emergency Management as of 6 p.m.
Lincoln Drive is closed
Kelly Drive is closed.
MLK Drive is closed.
There is a down tree blocking Belfield Street between 18th St and
Windrim Avenue.
Springfield Avenue is closed from 65th to 70th.
Spring Garden Street Tunnel closed.
The 3800 to 4000 blocks of Main Street are closed due to flooding.
Ridge Avenue is closed at Lincoln Drive due to flooding.
Frankford Avenue to Ashburner closed due to a tree on SEPTA wires.
Flat Rock Road is flooded
2700 Tulip Street closed due to flooding.
Woodhaven Road at Byberry is closed due to flooding.
28th Street at Dauphin closed due to flooding.
18th Street at Bellfield is closed.
2 lanes at Delaware and S Queen are blocked by a tree.
3800 Falls Road is flooded.
700 Waterworks Drive is flooded.
Bells Mills at Germantown is closed.
Forbidden Drive at Bells Mill Road is flooded.
7800 Ridge Avenue closed due to downed light pole.
Philadelphia police have also said this evening that a Northeast Philadelphia man was killed last night when he lost control of his car during Hurricane Irene.
The man was driving on Napfle Sreet near Algon around 8:40 p.m. when he hit a pole. He was pronounced dead on the scene an hour later.
A female passenger was taken to Aria-Torresdale Hospital in guarded condition.
— Alexandra Wigglesworth
(5:40 p.m.)
People came from all over the city and nearby suburbs to check out the swollen Schuylkill River at a popular former railroad overpass. In this video, Larma found a young couple, Laura Singer and Kevin Martin, sightseeing in the aftermath of Irene today.
— Rikard Larma
(5:30 p.m.)
EAST OAK LANE. The wrath of Irene bypassed this part of the city with the exception of a few brief power outages overnight Saturday and some uprooted trees in residential neighborhoods.
The deluge of rain caused the Tacony Creek to swell, rising to the level of a pedestrian bridge near Adams Avenue early Sunday. Much of the water receded by the afternoon, but the creek remained covered with debris and downed branches.
The torrential downpour, while persistent, did not seem to cause much damage to power lines or homes. Tree removal crews did have to lift away a few trees that were knocked down by the gusty winds, but it was better than expected given the forecast. SEPTA had resumed by the afternoon.
Residents and businesses clearly avoided the worst and will remember Irene more of a powerful storm that was not. Most of the cleanup should be completed by Monday.
— Solomon D. Leach
(2:25 p.m.)
SEPTA service is beginning again today, though most Regional Rail lines remain offline, according to an agency spokesman.
“More than half of SEPTA’s suburban bus routes are operating, although with significant detours. Others remain suspended at this time,” SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said in an email today. “Most transit services within the City of Philadelphia are resuming operations. SEPTA is running service on the Market-Frankford Line, the Broad Street Line and all Trolley lines. Most city bus routes are also operating, however, a number are experiencing detours at this time due to road conditions.”
— Brian X. McCrone
(12:30 p.m.)
(12:15 p.m.)
The deluge is gone, but here’s comes the flood stage at many rivers and creeks across the Philadelphia region. From Manayunk to Trenton, N.J., some neighborhoods are under water or expected to be this morning.
Reports are also beginning to come in from the New Jersey coast, where some areas suffered water damage, but the extensive flooding expected along miles and miles of waterfront have yet to materialize.
Power outages have been reported and hundreds of thousands in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are without electricity.
“Good news is the storm has been downgraded to a tropical storm and the damage was not as bad as originally expected,” N.J. Gov. Chris Christie said yesterday. Two people died in the storm, he added, including an emergency responder in Princeton swept away in a flash flood.
–Brian X. McCrone
