NEWTOWN SQUARE–"While some area residents were trying to ignore the sounds of the wind and the rain, the emergency service providers in Newtown Square were busy," said James Biddle, the public information officer for the Newtown Square Fire Co. Biddle said the wind and rain during the storm caused for downed wires, utility pole fires and other storm-sponsored calls on Saturday, Aug. 27.However, even when the wind and rain had subsided, Biddle said it did not end the calls of the fire company volunteers."Long before the local weather began to show any indications of the anticipated storm, a …
The following state roads are still closed as of 5 p.m. Wednesday in Delaware County due to downed trees or power lines from Hurricane Irene. This information is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Please drive with caution in these areas. Wednesday Valley Rd. between Darlington Rd. and Forge Rd. in Middletown Township. Downed tree with wires. Lansdowne Ave./Darby Rd./Main St. between Marple Rd. and College Ave. in Haverford Township. Downed Utility. Darby Paoli Rd. between Colony Rd./Briarwood Rd. and Lawrence Ln. in Radnor Township. Downed Tree with wires. …
The Delaware County Department of Intercommunity Health recently issued a press release warning residents to stay out of flooded surface waters. "As a result of the on-going flood event from Hurricane Irene, the Delaware County Department of Intercommunity Health recommends that all residents of Delaware County avoid recreational contact with flood waters due to the unknown amount of raw sewage and waste chemicals that may be present," states the press release. Both surface waterways and standing surface water remaining from the flood are applied to this warning. To protect the health and …
MEDIA–Members of the Delaware County Counil expressed their gratitude at Tuesday's council meeting to the first responders and volunteers who responded quickly to the state of emergency declared for Hurricane Irene. County officials held a press conference on Saturday urging residents to stay indoors and offered safety tips. The county had prepared for the storm with an emergency plan, collaborating with all of the 49 municipalities' emergency personnel officials. "I'd just like to take a moment to thank you personally and this council and the first responders for doing an excellent job as …
The aftermath of Hurricane Irene continues in the area as downed trees and wires continue to cause power outages in the area. As of 8 p.m. Monday, PECO reported that 29,000 customers were without power in Delaware County. Ben Armstrong, a spokesperson for PECO, said Hurricane Irene was easily ranked as one of the top five worst storms they've seen so far. Marple Township has 2,018 residents without power while 860 residents were without power in Newtown Township by Monday evening, according to Armstrong. Armstrong said PECO expects to be able to restore service to about 90 percent of all …
These Hurricane Irene photos and videos were taken mostly during Sunday morning in parts of Delaware County.
Marple Township "Fared Better Than Anticipated" Marple Township Commissioners President Michael Molinaro declared a state of emergency on Saturday morning. According to Molinaro, declaring a state of emergency will allow for reimbursement on certain storm-related expenses from the state. On Sunday morning, Molinaro met with Marple Police, Broomall Fire Co., Marple Ambulance Corps code enforcement, Department of Public Works and Commissioner Jan Ceton, township emergency coordinator. "We will remain in a state of emergency until the wind stops and electricity is restored," said Molinaro on …
Patch hit the streets before and after the storm over the weekend around Marple Newtown. Check out the photo gallery to see just a few of incidents we were able to capture around town. To read the recap of Irene's wrath in our area, read it here. We were updating live throughout the weekend on our blog. If you didn't have the chance to participate or view it, click here. Click here to read all our Hurricane Irene stories.
The sun was shining brightly as a signifier that Hurricane Irene was over as Mayor Michael Nutter (D), Gov. Tom Corbett (R) and a handful of other local officials gathered for a press conference in East Falls Sunday evening. If it wasn’t for the Schuylkill River still overflowing above Kelly Drive, you might not have known the storm took place at all. Nutter and Corbett thanked police, PECO employees and clean-up crews for the hours of work they had put in during and after the hurricane. “PECO really has been kicking it out, with about 4,000 people on the ground," throughout the state, he …
Hurricane Irene left the greater Philadelphia area on Sunday morning, leaving behind a number of damages in several towns with her. Flooding Some areas like Plymouth-Whitemarsh experienced some of the most severe flooding. The Schuylkill River in West Conshohocken overflowed into business and corporate centers, parking lots, the Conshohocken SEPTA station and apartment/condominium complexes. In addition to train tracks and numerous other items including cars, a small, short-haired brown dog was found floating in the water at Bicentennial Park in Plymouth. In the Marple and Media border, …
Marple Newtown Patch is live blogging Hurricane Irene coverage. This means that our local editors will be adding updates live. You can contribute too. Add in information, images about what you are seeing where you live, just enter the information at the bottom of the console or click on the green arrow to upload an image. Please stay safe.
UPDATED 12:30 p.m. Hurricane Irene is no longer classified as a hurricane. She is now known as Tropical Storm Irene and will continue to push up over the Hudson Valley, but her effects will continue to be felt throughout our region as we experience 30 mph winds with gusts to near 50 mph later Sunday afternoon. If you are walking around outside, use caution as the high winds can still knock down large tree limbs and power lines. Our area should not receive much more rainfall throughout the remainder of the day as the system continues to move northward. There may be the occasional light shower …
Delaware County Solicitor John McBlain said at a press conference Saturday afternoon that representatives from PECO, PennDOT, American Red Cross and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) as well as fire officials will be at the emergency center along with the county’s staff throughout the storm. McBlain said the county conferred with PEMA Saturday afternoon along with other emergency management officials from across the state. "The advice we received is that in Delaware County we will receive approximately 8 to 10 inches of rain during this span. We will receive 40 mph winds with …
Delaware County officials urged all county residents to stay indoors from 7 p.m. Saturday until noon Sunday unless otherwise directed. "We expect that the next 24 hours are going to be difficult here in Delaware County," County Council President Jack Whelan said at a press conference held Saturday afternoon. "However, we are prepared to deal with the situation." Whelan said the county is prepared to deal with any storm-related situation that hits the county and have been working with all 49 municipalities' emergency personnel officials. Whelan encourage residents to sign up for Delco Alert, …
MEDIA–With Hurricane Irene heading up the East Coast and right for our area, the Delaware County SPCA is offering "hurricane" adoption specials through Sunday. The cats and kittens at the SPCA are in desperate need of adoption since the facility is at capacity and may need to euthanize for space, a last resort but a harsh reality when involved with animal control, according to Director of Community Relations at the SPCA Justina Calgiano. The shelter will offer reduced "hurricane" specials through Sunday. All adult cats (6 months and older) will be free to good homes and kittens will be $50. …
All SEPTA services will stop running at 12:30 a.m. Sunday because of Hurricane Irene. Regional rail service will stop even sooner. SEPTA says service will be suspended at approximately 5 p.m. Saturday on the following SEPTA Regional Rail lines: Wilmington/Newark Paoli/Thorndale Trenton Chestnut Hill West Airport An assistant to Mayor Michael Nutter, Luke Butler, first announced on Twitter that service will be suspended. Butler said this is the first time in history SEPTA has ceased all operations. SEPTA said in a news release that service is not expected to resume "until at least midday …
The community has been spending the past few days preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irene. Irene has already barreled through the Caribbean Islands and is heading up our way. Marple Newtown Patch will be providing updates on road closures, power outages and more throughout the storm, but the more information we receive from resdients around town the better our coverage. Here’s how to get in on the action (send them in to Jennifer.Kim@patch.com, post them on our Facebook page or tweet them to us): Send Photos Photos of the storm would be greatly appreciated. Whether it's down wires…
The National Weather Service (NWS) stated that the Philadelphia region is still under a hurricane warning, as well as a tropical storm warning for Chester and Montgomery counties. As of 8 a.m. Saturday, the center of Irene was an estimated 340 miles south-southwest of Atlantic City, with the storm intensity of 85 mph, the NWS reported. Hurricane Irene is expected to pass close to the coasts of Delaware and New Jersey late Saturday night into Sunday morning, while possibly bringing damaging winds, torrential rain with local and coastal flooding, the NWS predicts. With an estimated six to 10 …
As Hurricane Irene makes its way to the area, a list of emergency numbers may be useful to be kept on hand in case of an emergency situation during the storm. ASSISTANCE American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania Disaster Services (24 hours a day): 215-299-4889 Delaware County Department of Emergency Services: 610-565-8700 Pennsylvania Insurance Department: 1-877-881-6388 Broomall Fire Co.: Emergency: 911; Non-emergency: 610-353-5225 Marple Township Police: Emergency: 911; Non-emergency: 610-356-1500 Newtown Square Fire Co.: Emergency: 911; Non-emergency: 610-356-9590 Newtown Township …
Many of us are jaded by the media in regards to natural disasters. Hype beckons us to panic a half dozen times every winter when we are promised a blizzard, and only a few flurries arrive. But then, when something really ‘bad’ is fairly certain to happen, many of us would rather brave the elements than the lines at the Giant or Acme because we feel like it is media’s cry of “wolf!” once again. When it comes to preparing for the worst-case scenario, I've been learning that “it is better safe than sorry." Here are a few simple steps that I learned that can be taken in every household that …
