BLOG: Delaware River Recedes
By Justin Drabick
After Thursday's soaker with rainfall amounts anywhere from 1.5"-5" around the region, many rivers, streams, and creeks overflowed their banks.
The smaller streams and creeks are the first to flood and the larger rivers are the last. They need time for the smaller tributaries to drain into the main rivers. Many of the waterways around the Delaware Valley reached flood stage or rose above it, causing minor to some moderate flooding.
The rain ended early Friday morning, but there is always a lag time to the rising water levels.
In Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River crested just above flood stage (11 ft.) at 11.03 ft. at 8:30am Friday and fell below flood stage during the afternoon. The river drives were closed due flooded roadways. The Brandywine and Neshaminy creeks also crested above flood stage Friday morning and fell back below flood stage later in the day.
The Delaware River took the longest to rise and crested early Saturday morning. At New Hope, the Delaware crested just above flood stage (13 ft.) at 13.07 ft. at around 5am Saturday and is now below flood stage.
At Riegelsville, the river crested well above flood stage (22 ft.) at 25.2 ft. just after midnight and is just falling back to near flood stage this evening. At Trenton, the river crested just above flood stage (20 ft.) at 20.59 at 7am Saturday and is now below flood stage.
It is important to not drive through flooded roadways. Your best bet is to turn around and find another way. It's hard to tell the depth of the water and is not worth taking the risk. Flooding is one of the top killers in weather related deaths. It only takes a few inches of fast moving water to knock a person over and a foot of water to move a car.
