Thousands of homes, businesses still without power in wake of Tropical Storm Isaias

PHILADELPHIA - Three days after Tropical Storm Isaias plowed through the Delaware Valley bringing damaging winds and buckets of rain that lead to widespread power outages.

As of Saturday morning, PSE&G owns more than 5,000 of the outages in areas across New Jersey. Meanwhile, PECO claims more than 500 customers are without electricity. AC Electric is still managing over 1,100 outages and Delmarva Electric says its whittled outages below 260.

First Energy New Jersey, which serves the central and northern reaches of the Garden State, accounts for 3,964 in Ocean, Mercer and Burlington. First Energy's Pennsylvania branch reports under 1,000 outages.

Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday that at the height of the storm 1.4 million New Jersey residents were without power.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, an unsecured barge broke loose on the Schuylkill River and slammed into the Vine Street Expressway causing the highway to be closed from I-76 to Broad Street. The barge was freed on Thursday afternoon and traffic reopened shortly after engineers confirmed that the bridge sustained no structural damage.

North of the city, the Schuylkill River spilled over on to Main Street in Manayunk during the flooding, causing backwash and mud to coat roads, homes and businesses in the Philadelphia suburb. 

In Southwest Philadelphia, SkyFOX flew over extensive flood damage left in the wake of Isaias on Tuesday afternoon. Chopper captured several properties and vehicles submerged in rising floodwaters. Likewise, in Delaware County, floodwaters rushed through Upper Darby and required the National Guard to be called.

Elsewhere in our area, many homes and residences were left picking up the pieces from damaging winds and tornadoes. A mother and her two small children escaped their home in Delaware unharmed after strong winds ripped away a second-floor wall. 

Unfortunately, for some, the storm was more deadly. Police say a woman in Delaware was killed when she was struck by a falling tree branch. Another woman in Lehigh County died when her vehicle was swept away in floodwaters. Authorities around the area also were seen performing several water rescues. 

Storm assessment has begun around the region as the tri-state area begins recovery efforts in the wake of the dangerous tropical storm. The National Weather Service has confirmed a total of six tornadoes touched down in connection with Tropical Storm Isaias Tuesday, with five in our region. 

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