Guest guest Posted June 17, 2001 Report Share Posted June 17, 2001 r n BC-Aftermath Bjt 06-17 0535 Home | News | Sports | Business | Community | Weather | Classifieds | YellowPages | Maps | Movies | TV | Shop New users Sign On Registered users Sign In Personalize MySan.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Local News Today's Top Stories From The Express-News Arts & Entertainment Business & Technology Columnists Commentary Community Events Lifestyle & Features Metro & State Nation & World Sports - High School Sports - Spurs From KENS 5 Eyewitness News Live Online Broadcasts Super Doppler Radar Y2K ExCel Teacher Awards AP Wire News Business & Financial Entertainment Health & Science International National Politics Sports Technology Associated Press Texas Wire News Heavy rain floods homes and highways, blacks out thousands With BC-TX--Texas Storms-Church,Bjt AP Photos PADOY104,102 By MICHAEL RUBINKAM= Associated Press Writer= HORSHAM, Pa. (AP) - A week after inundating Houston, the remnants of Tropical Storm drenched southeastern Pennsylvania with up to 9 inches of rain, flooding people out of their homes and sending firefighters climbing trees to safety. has been blamed for at least 39 deaths along its path from Texas. Firefighters on Saturday rescued about 30 residents from the flooded Village Green apartments in Horsham, 16 miles north of Philadelphia. During the operation, the complex was struck by a natural gas explosion and fire, and the rising water prevented the firefighters from battling the flames. Among the apartment evacuees were Bill Meyers, 72, and his wife, Genevieve, 65, who scrambled into a boat from a second-story window after the flood forced them out of their first-floor apartment. ``We lost everything. We just about lost our lives,'' Genevieve Meyers said. ``I was scared half to death.'' The rain eased off Sunday as the storm moved through New Jersey and New York into New England and out to sea. Flash flood warnings were posted for parts of New Jersey, which got 4 inches of rain. The Pennsylvania Turnpike between Norristown and Fort Washington reopened Sunday after being closed by high water, but the Fort Washington Interchange 13 miles north of Philadelphia remained blocked. The storm had knocked out power to about 50,000 customers, and PECO Energy crews were still at work Sunday restoring service, spokeswoman Vonda Paige said. At the height of the storm Saturday, rising water flooded homes and submerged vehicles in many low-lying areas of Bucks and Montgomery counties northeast of Philadelphia. Five or six firefighters in Montgomery County's Willow Grove area had to climb trees to keep ahead of the rapidly rising water, said county dispatch supervisor Steve Keeley. Keeley said 150 people were evacuated from a Holiday Inn in Fort Washington after water flooded the first floor and knocked out electrical power. There were no immediate reports of severe injuries, he said. Bucks County dispatchers reported dozens of people trapped in cars stalled on flooded highways. i, 19, and his girlfriend, Stringer, 20, spent the night at a shelter in a school after half wading, half swimming from their car on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. ``A wave of water just swept the car into a pond. It rapidly sunk,'' i said. moved into Texas on June 6 and quickly weakened, but it lingered and on June 8 and 9 it flooded the Houston area, forcing thousands from their homes and causing an estimated $2 billion in damage. The storm was blamed for at least 22 deaths in Texas and Louisiana. As it moved eastward along the Gulf Coast and then up the East Coast, nine deaths were attributed to the storm in Florida. It was blamed for seven traffic deaths in North Carolina, and on Saturday a tree toppling in waterlogged ground killed a woman in Virginia Beach, Va. AP-WS-06-17-01 1257EDT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.