from today's courier post
Region escapes fatalities
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
By JASON NARK and JIM WALSH
Courier-Post Staff
Flooding from a deluge described as a "1,000-year storm" washed out dams and bridges, swamped neighborhoods and forced more than 700 people from homes across South Jersey, officials said Tuesday.
"It's a mess," said Freeholder-Director Vincent Farias in Burlington County, where the storm hit hardest. "But thank goodness we have had no reports of fatalities or serious injuries."
Officials said 760 residents were rescued and evacuated from homes in the county, including some people plucked from rooftops and almost all residents of Vincentown. Up to 200 homes were thought to be seriously damaged.
More than 15 major roads remained at least partially closed Tuesday, and a Route 70 bridge was out near Leisuretowne in Southampton.
And residents were warned not to flush toilets in Medford Lakes, where a power outage closed the sewerage plant.
More weather woes may be on the way.
Potentially torrential storms could hit parts of South Jersey today, this time accompanied by punishing winds and hail, according to the National Weather Service.
After Monday's soaking, any additional rain is likely to cause more flooding, the Weather Service said.
"It won't take very strong winds to bring down trees because of the saturated conditions," the agency noted in a statement. "Downed trees will bring down power lines and many people could be without power late Wednesday."
"Any heavy rains will be localized," said Greg Petridis, a Weather Service meteorologist in Westampton. "Most people will get thunderstorms, but some areas could get dumped on pretty good."
Monday's record-breaking storm dumped a whopping 13.2 inches of rain on Tabernacle, more than three times the monthly average of about four inches. That qualified as a once-in-a-1,000-years storm, the Weather Service said.
Rainfall totaled 7.9 inches in Cherry Hill, 6.27 inches in Mount Laurel and 6.14 inches in West Deptford, the Weather Service said.
The storm's financial toll was not yet known.
Gov. James E. McGreevey flew into Medford by helicopter Tuesday morning to declare a state of emergency. Later, U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton, R-Mount Holly, said he had asked President Bush to declare the county a disaster area.
"We have not seen devastation like this in years," said Saxton.
The promises of aid seemed little consolation for those who lost homes, automobiles, and personal belongings.
"We left with the clothes on our backs," said Sandy Tams of Mount Laurel, who was taken by boat from her home with her husband and two children about 1 a.m.
"It's just devastating. It's like a bomb hit the area," said Paul Zetts Sr. of Medford Lakes, who said the storm swept away three boats and a dock at his son's lakefront home, also in Medford Lakes.
The storm's impact was most damaging near the Rancocas Creek's southwest branch, where floodwaters overwhelmed dams in the Medford/Medford Lakes area, said Kevin Tuno, Burlington County's emergency management coordinator. The stream was falling Tuesday.
Another branch of the creek, in the Pemberton Township area, was still rising Tuesday as the Weather Service forecast "record flooding." The branch was expected to crest near 4.3 feet early this morning, which would break a record of 4.2 feet set in 1939.
A flood warning for Burlington County was first posted shortly after midnight Tuesday, said Joe Miketta, a Weather Service meteorologist.
"We knew the potential was there for heavy rain, but the amount of rain we got was far above average," he said. "Two or three inches is not unusual in the summertime, but 10 inches is a whole 'nother story."
In Camden County, the Cooper River crested at 6.27 feet at midnight Tuesday, shattering the record of 5.5 feet set in August 1971. That closed several nearby roads, including Park Boulevard and North Park Drive.
"Nothing we could do about it except watch and wait," said Camden County Park Police Chief James Weist. "I guess it could have been a lot worse."
On Tuesday morning, the Cooper's waters filled the driveway outside the Collingswood home of Samuel Devedjian, 75.
"Whaddaya gonna do?" asked Devedjian, standing knee-deep in water outside his home on Browning Road near South Park Drive. "You can't fight water."
In Cherry Hill, three homes sustained severe structural damage and 13 were evacuated in the Ridings of Fox Run development, police said.
"We're dealing with a lot of road washouts," said Don Elmer, coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management in Camden County. "We have a sinkhole on Route 561 (Haddonfield-Berlin Road in Cherry Hill) that's had it closed since Monday."
Gloucester County experienced only minimal flooding in the usual locations, including Crown Point Road in West Deptford, said Tom Butts, the county's emergency response coordinator.
"We had a lot of rain, but nothing like what they saw in Burlington County," he said.
At one time or another, officials Tuesday closed almost all bridges over streams in about a 30-square-mile area of Burlington County. That included parts of Medford, Medford Lakes, Mount Laurel, Southampton and Tabernacle.
Farias said it could take four to six days to erect a temporary span over Route 70, where the swollen Friendship Creek washed out a state-owned bridge.
In Lumberton, county highway worker Lee Touchque saved nine people from their homes when he drove his dump truck onto a flooded side street of Route 541 Tuesday morning.
"It was just part of my job helping people any way I could," said Touchque, 54, of Delran.
In Vincentown, floodwaters surrounded several fuel oil tanks and four fuel trucks at Allen's Oil and Propane on Main Street. Steve Riddle, a company employee, said the extent of damage will not be known until the waters recede.
"It's never flooded here like this," he said.
Main Street was still flooded late Tuesday with at least four feet of water. Earlier, water had risen to the second floors of some buildings.
Elsewhere in the county, nine horses from Crossbridge Stables off Retreat Road in Southampton were rescued. State Police said said campers were stranded but safe behind flooded roads that led to two YMCA camps - Ockanickon and Matollionequay - in Medford.
In Medford, two schools and the school district's transportation center sheltered more than 100 township residents, including children, the elderly and people with pets, said Schools Superintendent Joseph Del Rossi.
Gym mats were pulled out and refreshments were served. One man who took refuge at Taunton Forge School had to be administered oxygen at the nurse's office, Del Rossi said.
"There is a lot to be concerned with here," said Michael S. Beeman, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency who toured flooded communities Tuesday.
"When nature can take a canoe, throw it against a tree and bend it bow to bow - it's a significant force of nature," he said.
MORE HEAVY RAIN EXPECTED TODAY
More heavy rain could hit South Jersey today, accompanied by winds that could topple trees and snap power lines, forecasters say.
Some areas could see "torrential downpours at a rate of two or more inches per hour," said the National Weather Service. The heaviest storms are likely between 2 and 6 p.m.
