Flooding, Downed Trees & Wires Impact Area

Heavy rainfall led to significant flooding in the Newtown area and caused the Neshaminy Creek to overflow its banks.

Authorities reported the closure of numerous roads in the Newtown area due to flooding and downed trees and wires.

The Neshaminy Creek at Second Street Pike in Wrightstown Township reached major flood stage by Wednesday morning.

At Tyler State Park in Newtown Township, the walking causeway was submerged as the creek’s waters surged downstream.

The Delaware River in Upper Makefield Township showed higher-than-normal levels, but major flooding was not anticipated. In Trenton, the river was expected to reach action stage by Wednesday night.

The storm’s impact to PECO customers left approximately 1,300 customers in the area experiencing outages on Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, the number of customers without power had been reduced to 122.

Reports indicated service outages for Verizon and Xfinity in some areas.

In Newtown Township and Wrightstown Township, Buck Road at the Neshaminy Creek Bridge and Penns Park Road between Cedar Lane and Swamp Road were closed as mid-morning Wednesday, police said.

“If you observe a flooded roadway, turn around and find an alternate route,” police said.

Upper Makefield Township police said 100 Thompson Mill Road to the Wrightstown Township line, 93 Buckmanville Road, and 118 Walker Road were blocked due to downed trees and wires. The roads were expected to remain closed until PECO could complete its work.

River Road between Barlow Ridge Road and Lookout Park and River Road between Jonathan Way and Francisco’s on the River were closed due to flooding in Upper Makefield Township.

“We hope that River Road will be open later this morning, but Mother Nature may have other plans. We know this is inconvenient, but it is for your safety,” police said.

Bucks County had approximately half a dozen water rescues between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning due to the storm, but no serious injuries were reported.

A county spokesperson reported the closure of over 100 roads since Tuesday evening, but many had reopened.

The Council Rock School District delayed opening Wednesday due to the storm’s impact.

Sue Rodriguez, who was traveling from Bucks County Wednesday morning to get to her bus driver job in Philadelphia, said she was pleased to see downed limbs and tree already cleared from the roadways. However, she was surprised to see so much street flooding.

“The only thing I have to tell people is to stay out of the flooded roads,” she said. “Don’t do something that will hurt you and your family.”

The National Weather Service’s regional office warned of another storm expected Friday night through Saturday. New rainfall could exacerbate the current flooding and bringing strong, possibly damaging winds.

A Wind Advisory is also in effect for later Wednesday as strong winds were expected to return.