Philadelphia has been hit by three separate flash flooding events in just one week — and the third was severe enough for Mayor Parker to declare a formal Disaster Emergency.
It started Monday, July 6, when 2-4 inches of rain fell across Philadelphia, Bucks, and Burlington Counties, closing Kelly Drive, flooding Frankford Creek, suspending SEPTA’s Trenton line, and generating about 1,000 emergency calls in Camden County alone. This came right after Philly endured its first-ever three-day stretch of 101°+ heat in records dating back to 1873.
Just three days later, on Thursday, July 9, a second storm broke an actual rainfall record — Philadelphia International Airport logged 2.40 inches, beating a record that had stood since 1952. More than 300 flights were delayed and nearly 70 canceled.
Then on Saturday, July 11, a fast-moving, severe storm tore roofing off buildings — including a Philadelphia Housing Authority building that displaced 30 residents — downed hundreds of trees and power lines, and swept parked cars into poles as floodwaters surged through neighborhoods. Police fielded roughly 3,000 emergency calls. Mayor Parker declared a Disaster Emergency in response.
All of this despite Philadelphia still sitting about 4 inches below normal rainfall for the year — a stark swing between drought stress and catastrophic flooding in the same two weeks.
🌧️ In this video:
A breakdown of all three flooding events
Why Philly declared a Disaster Emergency
Resident stories of losing everything
Why the region keeps swinging between drought and flooding
#Philadelphia #FlashFlood #DisasterEmergency #WeatherNews #Philly
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