Heavy Rains Pounded Haverford Township

During the overnight, heavy rains pounded Haverford Township, resulting in flood-damaged homes and leaving some homeowners without power, said Haverford Township Manager Larry Gentile.

"This was worse than Irene," Gentile told the Haverford-Havertown Patch in a phone interview Thursday morning.

Some area roads, such as parts of Wynnefield Drive, Township, Haverford and Earlington roads were flooded during the heavy rains early Thursday morning, Gentile said.

He said that about 4 inches of rain fell in two hours and one tree on Brookline Boulevard fell on a utility pole, knocking power out for a "few hundred homeowners."

The downed power line was seen at the intersection of Lawson Avenue and Edgewood Road, right where Brookline Boulevard ends and Lawson Avenue begins. A blue Toyota Camery was seen where part of the tree fell on it. Part of its roof was caved in. The intersection is closed off.

PECO has not yet returned a phone call from Patch, but a PECO utility truck was seen by Patch pulling up to the intersection at 9:51 a.m., with the PECO worker inspecting the area. Moments later two more PECO utility trucks showed up and workers came out to inspect the area and prepare for the repair work in the rain.

There was one shelter opened at Lynnwood Elementary School, where Judith Cayer of Wynnefield Drive spoke to Patch at the school's parking lot. She said that a firefighter knocked on her door around 2 a.m. Thursday to tell her and her neighbors that they can go to the shelter.

She said the shelter provided bottled water, cots, blankets and pillows. She said that she took a nap at some point while there because she did not sleep at all during the night because she was concerned if her sump pump would work or not.

The Haverford School District has for Thursday.

Gentile said that eight homes were damaged from the heavy rains, with five of them that he personally inspected.

His next concern is that more rain is expected to hit the region, he said.

The National Weather Service is calling for periods of heavy rains and thunderstorms later Thursday, with a flood watch in effect until 4:30 p.m., Thursday.

Haverford Township is in a state of emergency.