Tornado slams New Castle County neighborhood, as Bucks County hopes to be spared from Debby's wrath
TORNADO DAMAGES NEW CASTLE COUNTY
PHILADELPHIA - A day after an EF-1 tornado hit portions of New Castle County, new video is showcasing damage from that, as well as damage to an apartment complex in Avondale, just 11 miles north, where torrential rain poured through that area.
The tornado was on the ground about a mile and ripped through a neighborhood around 7:15 Thursday evening. Within just a few minutes, the damage was done.
Friday brought the sound of wood chippers and disbelief filled the air in the Sherwood Park neighborhood.
"I’ve lived in Texas. I’ve seen double twisters, so I knew, when I saw it, I said, ‘That’s a twister,’" resident Glenda Sterling stated.
Sterling was having dinner with friends when the tornado came through her backyard.
EF-1 tornado damages buildings, shreds trees in New Castle County; Chester County pounded by heavy rain
A confirmed tornado in New Castle County brought trees down while Chester County was pounded with torrential rain, flooding roadways already soaked from days of rain.
"It literally sucked the windows, windows and frames, out of my porch and broke them. And, my fence went flying," Sterling explained the chaos. "It was swirling and it was flying. It landed in the park. It landed at my neighbors. It landed out front, also."
Across the street, her neighbors home suffered major damage when a tree fell into their house. And, not one but all four family cars were crushed by tree limbs.
Like many, Dawn Warrick got an alert on her phone, then got a call from her firefighter son. "My son called and he said it’s getting ready to come through your neighborhood. You really need to get into the basement," she said.
Heeding the warnings to seek shelter, the family got in the basement as winds outside peaked at 95 miles per hour.
"Absolute devastation through here, but yet you can go a couple streets over and there doesn’t look like anything happened. They have power and everything," Warrick continued.
Luckily, there were no reported injuries, but plenty of property damage. Residents are now dealing with insurance adjusters and negotiating with the swarms of contractors knocking on doors to do home renovations. Some are even using their EV cars to power home appliances.
Sterling is taking it all in stride, "I used to be an ER nurse. I take things very stoically. My friends say, ‘Aren’t you upset?’ I say it’s just stuff. It will get fixed. God is good. He’ll fix it. We’ll get it all done."
BUCKS COUNTY WAITS FOR DEBBY
Heavy rainfall, high tide and wind could create the perfect storm for flooding at the Neshaminy Creek in lower Bucks County.
The high winds toppled a tree on Street Road, near Feasterville. Crews quickly cut it up and removed it, allowing traffic to once again flow through the area.
Also, in upper Bucks, the Doylestown Township offices closed at 2:30 Friday afternoon under the threat of more severe weather.
"If it’s going that way, it’s going out and you’ll see it and if it’s coming this way, it’s coming in," Gene Donahue stated. He lives on the creek.
The tidal Neshaminy Creek has been coming in and rising, coinciding with the threat of heavy rain from the remnants of Debby. When that happens, the low-lying area is flood prone.
Donahue continued, "The previous owners from the ‘50s said the water came up to the road and that’s why they lifted all the houses years ago."
Some of the older homes still remain and Gene’s neighbors, just 75 yards away, have experienced damaging floods as recently as last winter when the creek swelled. They had water inside their home and they worry Debby could bring similar damage.
"It’s a bad day today, but on a sunny day, it’s beautiful back here," Gene stated.
And, that’s why most residents stay, despite what Mother Nature has done in the past and could bring in the future, as in more frequent and severe storms.
William Oliphant lives close to the creek. He said, "We get some pretty bad times when the water comes up pretty high."
While Debby is expected to pass through quickly, William was hoping to get his yard work done. He has an existential theory about Mother Nature, "I don’t know what the weather is doing. It has a mind of its own."