Flood — Bucks, Pennsylvania

2006-06-28 to 2006-06-30 · near Riegelsville, Bucks, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

Several days of heavy rain throughout the Delaware River Basin culminated with major flooding along the Delaware River from the 28th through the 30th. It was the fourth or fifth highest crest on record for the Delaware River along Bucks County and hit Yardley and New Hope the hardest. The crest was slightly lower than the April 2005 flood. President George W. Bush declared Bucks County a disaster area. Inland flooding affected Perkasie and Sellersville the most. Sporadic periods of heavy rain started on the 23rd, but the most widespread and heaviest rain fell from the night of the 27th into the morning of the 28th. Event totals in Bucks County averaged four to ten inches, but storm totals exceeded ten inches in parts of the Upper Delaware Basin in New York State.Governor Ed Rendell declared a disaster emergency in the state on the 28th. In Eastern Pennsylvania approximately 5000 homes, apartments and businesses were damaged. Many homes had their basement appliances and furniture ruined. The disaster area declaration made individual and public assistance possible. Numerous roads were damaged and closed. Even the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Montgomery County was closed. Between Bucks and Monroe Counties ten Delaware River bridges operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission were closed. Tolls were suspended on bridges that remained open to ease congestion on the 28th through the 30th. Four bridges were still closed the night of the 29th, three bridges were closed on July 1st, they all were re-opened on the 2nd. Flooding damaged and forced the closure of twenty-two Pennsylvania State Parks. Emergency responders told people to not walk into flooded waters because it might contain sewage and other contaminants. Many homes also had oil in their basements from ruptured tanks. There was also concern about persons with individual wells having their drinking water compromised. An explosion of mold and mosquitoes was expected in the wake of the flood. Crops closest to the ground were also impacted by the flood and included cabbage, cucumbers, strawberries, spinach and squash. Bucks County took the worst hit from the flooding along the Delaware River with an estimated 30 million dollars in damage. Around 950 homes, 150 businesses, 150 apartments, 60 roads, 4 bridges, 5 parks and 3 public buildings were damaged. Around 250 homes and buildings, 50 businesses, four roads (River Road - Pennsylvania State Route 32 in particular), three bridges and two parks suffered major damage. Three homes were destroyed; two were in Lower Makefield Township. Upper Makefield Township had the greatest number of homes that suffered major damage, while Yardley Borough had the greatest number of homes that suffered any flood damage. New Hope Borough had the greatest number of businesses that suffered flood damage. About 4,000 people were evacuated from Yardley, New Hope, Solebury, Riegelsville, Perkasie, Lower Makefield and Upper Makefield Townships. Drinking water or filtration plants were closed in New Hope, Yardley, Sellersville and Morrisville. The Yardley plant did not come back on line until July 5th. Over 50 people were rescued from flood waters. Two kayakers were rescued from the Delaware River and one jet-skier was rescued from a tree. Flood damage also occurred inland along the Neshaminy Creek and the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek. The Delaware Canal that was still damaged from the two previous floods in 2004 and 2005 was damaged further. Several county and municipal Independence Day functions were postoned.In Riegelsville Borough, nearly half of the homes were flooded, some up to the first floor. In Tinicum Township, nearly 100 feet of River Road (Pennsylvania State Route 32) was washed away. In Solebury Township, a Pennsylvania State Route 32 bridge was damaged over Milton Creek. In New Hope Borough, about 600 people were evacuated. As a precaution PECO Energy turned off gas and electric power to about 500 homes and 200 businesses. The exclusive Waterview Condos were evacuated. The flood waters reached the intersection of Waterloo and Mechanic Streets and also flooded Main Street. About 15 homes, 9 multi-family homes, 30 businesses and four apartment buildings suffered major damage. The Bucks County Playhouse suffered about one million dollars in flood damage. The famous Odette's Restaurant saw flooding reach halfway up the front door. It was one of the last businesses to reopen and was still closed about a month after the flooding. While it was reopened, the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge suffered the most damage of all of the Delaware River bridges and will need repairs. In Upper Makefield Township, about 200 people were evacuated. About 80 homes suffered major damage. Three businesses were also damaged. In Lower Makefield Township, over 75 homes were damaged and over 100 people were evacuated. The Robinson Place and River Glen neighborhoods were affected the most by the flooding. Except for the two destroyed homes, all evacuees were back in their homes by July 2nd. In Yardley Borough over 700 people were evacuated from the Rivermawr Section north of the Yardley Inn (which was flooded) and in the flats south of Afton Avenue between the Delaware Canal and the Delaware River. Waters from the canal and river met on the 29th. Homes on the north side of Afton Avenue were flooded on the 28th and the southern half of the borough was flooded on the 29th. Mud lines reached as high as 4.5 feet on the sides of homes. About three-quarters of the evacuees were able to return to their homes on the 30th. Some of the soil that was supporting the borough's sewer pipe line was carried away by underground rivulets. This caused cracks and breaks in the borough's sewer line underneath two streets that had to be replaced. Inland in Middletown and Northampton Townships, about 10 roads were closed because of flooding along both the Neshaminy and Little Mill Creeks. In Perkasie, flooding along the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek forced the evacuation of residents of the Covered Bridge Apartments by raft. In Sellersville, both Main and Elm Street were flooded. This was described as the worst flooding in the area since Floyd in 1999.The Delaware River at Riegelsville was above its 22 foot flood stage from 451 a.m. EDT on the 28th through 632 p.m. EDT on the 30th. It crested at 33.62 feet at 300 p.m. EDT on the 29th, the fourth highest crest on record. Farther downstream at Frenchtown (Hunterdon County), the Delaware River was above its 16 foot flood stage from 827 a.m. EDT on the 28th through 835 p.m. EDT on the 30th. It crested at 22.90 feet at 500 p.m. EDT on the 4th, the fourth highest crest on record. Farther downstream, at Stockton (hunterdon County), the Delaware River was above its 18 foot flood stage from 4 a.m. EDT on the 28th through 620 p.m. EDT on the 30th. It crested at 25.35 feet at 7 p.m. EDT on the 29th, the fourth highest crest on record. Farther downstream, at New Hope the Delaware River was above its 13 foot flood stage from 805 a.m. EDT on the 28th through 401 p.m. EDT on the 30th. It crested at 19.08 feet at 6 p.m. EDT on the 29th, the fourth highest crest on record. The Delaware River at Washington's Crossing was above its 20 foot flood stage from 825 p.m. EDT on the 28th through 912 a.m. EDT on the 30th. It crested at 22.54 feet at 700 p.m. EDT on the 29th, the fourth highest crest on record. The Delaware River at Trenton (Mercer County) was above its 20 foot flood stage from 746 a.m. EDT on the 28th through 652 p.m. EDT on the 30th. It crested at 25.09 feet at 845 p.m. EDT on the 29th, the fifth highest crest on record. Inland creeks also flooded. The Little Neshaminy Creek at Neshaminy was above its 8 foot flood stage from 502 a.m. EDT through 1112 a.m. EDT on the 28th. It crested at 9.76 feet at 8 a.m. EDT. The main stem of the Neshaminy Creek at Langhorne had major flooding and was above its 9 foot flood stage from 645 a.m. EDT through 1029 p.m. EDT on the 28th. It crested at 13.88 feet at 415 p.m. EDT. The East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek at Dublin was above its 5 foot flood stage from 401 a.m. EDT through 749 a.m. EDT on the 28th. It crested at 9.60 feet at 530 a.m. EDT. The Tohickon Creek at Pipersville was above its 10 foot flood stage from 559 a.m. through 747 a.m. EDT on the 28th. It crested at 10.55 feet at 645 a.m. EDT. Actual storm rainfall totals included 10.09 inches in Sellersville, 8.42 inches in Perkasie, 7.46 inches in Fricks and 6.29 inches in Doylestown.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5518461. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.