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Crews in Delco work to free downed trees from Chester Creek before more rain
As more rain moves into the area, crews in Delawaer County were working at a record pace, trying to remove downed trees from under the Kerlin Bridge over Chester Creek, to prevent more dangerous flooding conditions.
UPLAND, Pa. - Darby Creek was among the problem areas in Tuesday night’s storms and it could overflow its banks again, depending on how much rain falls Friday night.
Further south, in Upland, crews have been working on a major project that should allow the Chester Creek to flow its normal course and prevent a second major flooding incident.
It’s tough and tedious work, requiring heavy machinery and equipment and some painstaking work by PennDOT, along with partner crews, along the Kerlin Bridge over Chester Creek.
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"You can see the pile of full-size trees that have been pulled out of the creek," Deputy of Director of Delco OEM, Larry Bak, said. "It’s not unusual to pull out 60-foot trees with crown and roots, still attached. They fell around the creek and they were washed down to the bridge and got caught."
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They’re loud and Tuesday night, in the storms, they lit up the night sky, as transformers blew, leaving thousands of residents in the dark.
Officials are trying to avoid additional problems after one heavy rainfall this week on saturated ground, as another system moves into the area. A backup of the creek under the bridge created dangerous flooding in nearby areas.
If they can’t get the debris out of the way, it immediately backs up and when it backs up here, it goes all the way up straight through Aston, very close to Chester County," said Upland Borough Manager, Michael Ciach.
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Delaware County's 911 received 2,000 calls in six hours during Tuesday night's storm. 27 were for water rescues, including one that was a matter of life and death.
Officials in both Delco and Chester County are not taking any chances, after inches of rainfall earlier in the week caused dangerous flooding along creeks and streams. Residents in flooded areas were evacuated and rescued Tuesday and Wednesday as emergency workers responded to hundreds of calls.
"The ground is so saturated, it’s not gonna hold any more water and then we’ve got the high tide situation. The conditions are correct for flooding," Bak added.