It was déjà vu as Burlington County was inundated by torrential rains last week.
Seventy seven rescues were performed by first responders on the evening of Aug. 6 into the morning of the 7th involving vehicles trapped and stranded on flooded roads: 60 in Cinnaminson; 16 in Delran; and one in Willingboro, according to a county press release. No injuries were reported.
“We had 7-and-a-half inches,” Delran Mayor Gary Catrambone said, noting infrastructure in town is not set up for such heavy rain in a short period of time. “We did experience flooding in the usual places, as well as some unusual spots.”
According to the National Weather Service, more than 7 inches of rain fell on Delran and 6 inches on the New Albany section of Cinnaminson. Other rainfall totals were 4.1 inches in Willingboro, 3.8 inches in Burlington, 3 inches in Mount Laurel and 2 inches in Moorestown.
The most significant impacts occurred in towns along the Delaware River and the Route 130 corridor, but floods were reported in several towns, including Burlington City, Burlington Township, Delanco, Delran, Edgewater Park, Mount Laurel, Palmyra, Riverside, Riverton and Willingboro.
The torrential rains caused severe flooding on several roads and highways – including Route 130, which was closed in multiple areas – and small creeks and retention basins were overwhelmed.
County commissioners released the following statement on the severe storms and flash floods:
“Burlington County has a highly trained team of first responders and public-safety professionals, and once again, they proved their value last night,” said Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson, noting “close to 600 emergency 911 calls and 1,800 non-emergency calls were fielded by Burlington County Central Communications and the dispatch center’s telecommunicators.
“More than 1,500 police, fire and emergency medical incidents were dispatched through Central Communications.”
Ahead of more storms due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby on Aug. 9, county officials encouraged residents to exercise caution while driving during such weather events.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for 17 state counties, including Burlington, Camden and Gloucester. Strong winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour were expected to develop outside of any thunderstorms and cause flash flooding, downed trees and power outages.
Officials recommended residents create an emergency supply kit with essential items such as medications, important documents, clothing and necessary supplies and a disaster plan if evacuated on short notice.
During the storm on Aug. 6, residences in 15 homes in the Silver Park West community in Edgewater Park were evacuated due to flooding and taken to the development’s community center. Most were picked up by family members, and three residents indicated they would stay in a hotel. No injuries were reported among the evacuees.
In January, the Delaware River’s tide crested at 11.99 feet during a rainstorm that brought peak wind gusts as high as 70 miles per hour. Delran and Cinnaminson were the hardest hit towns, with more than 50 homes in each impacted by flooding predominantly in the areas of Alden and Stewart avenues, River Drive in Delran and the East Riverton section of Cinnaminson.
Many of the National Night Out events planned for Aug. 6 were cancelled or postponed due to the storms. Delran instead was expected to hold its night out on Tuesday, Aug. 13 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Delran Community Park with Cinnaminson’s will be Thursday, Aug. 29, at Wood Park.
The Palmyra Police Department canceled its National Night Out all together, but advised residents to stay tuned for possible future events. Medford police will hold their night out event from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
Residents can sign up for real-time alerts and notifications from the county’s Department of Public Safety CivicReady Emergency Alert system online at http://co.burlington.nj.us/210/Emergency-Notification-Systems.
