'Whole Basement Was Covered': Chester County Residents Spend Day Cleaning Up From Flooding
THORNDALE, Pa. (CBS) -- Parts of Chester County spent this day cleaning up from flooding. High waters made a mess of roads and homes.
Heavy downpours came through the Thorndale area Wednesday afternoon but with no substantial flooding, as anxious residents continue to look to the skies for a reprieve from Tuesday's storms.
"It just came down really really fast. Almost like a river just came through real quick," Eddie Jennings said.
There was little time to spare before Eddie Jennings' neighborhood began to flood.
"You had enough time to move your car and that was pretty much it. And then kids were being dropped off down the corner of the street and you'd have to walk them home, and then you're walking up to water at this level," Jennings said.
"We were lucky. It only made it to the first step before it got to the first floor. It stayed into the basement. The whole basement was covered up," Jennings said.
Others along South 5th Street in Coatesville weren't so lucky as floodwaters during Tuesday afternoon's fast-moving storms left first floors of homes submerged.
The hum of generators filled the neighborhood as residents were left without gas and electricity. Belongings are waterlogged and streets remain mud-caked.
These pictures show just how high the water rose, leaving this intersection along Lincoln Highway in Thorndale underwater.
"Whole area was flooded. It literally went to our front stairs. I had to walk across the other people's houses," Kaleb Willis said.
Jennings and his neighbors are hoping for breathing room as more storms are expected Wednesday evening.
"Hopefully it's not going to be as bad as yesterday. Give us a chance to breathe and get some of this water out of here," Jennings said.
The Red Cross is assisting approximately 10 families who were displaced by Tuesday's flooding.