Aftermath of Hurricane Ida kicked our Butts in Philly

Stunned. That’s how many people I talked to from Philadelphia on Thursday, September 2nd described the way they felt after witnessing the flooding, and at times torrential downpour in the city, September 1st. The cause, remnants of Hurricane Ida, which is now reported as the 5th worst hurricane ever recorded in American history, will be felt for some time to come.
Flooding in the Schuylkill River made a ripple effect of problems across Philadelphia after the remnants of Hurricane Ida made herself felt. From ritzy neighborhoods in the suburbs to the hood, right next door to the Manayunk section of Philadelphia and through Southwest Philadelphia through September 2nd.
The river crested at 16.35 feet. The previous record for the highest crest for the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia was 17′ back in 1869.
Residents in areas of Philadelphia that historically get flooding during weather events like this were warned early on September 1st to evacuate. As it turns out, those warnings were not exaggerated.
Philadelphia and many other surrounding communities in suburban Pennsylvania will have to deal with the damages and devastation from Ida’s historic flooding for months to come. As if it isn’t bad enough, for instance, that so many businesses lost so much money over the last 19 months due to the pandemic, now this. The clean-up is one thing, no easy fete in and of itself. But having to have your business closed until all damages can be repaired and stock replaced, that’s another whole issue and concern.
Philadelphia public school buildings were closed on Friday, September 3rd, because some streets and roadways still have too much water for children to travel safely. While public school buildings were closed, students were still supposed to attend classes online from home.
The rain waters picked up speed as the morning went on during the height of Ida’s visit to our area. More than a dozen parked cars along Main Street in Manayunk could be seen disappearing in the floodwaters. Some residents living in apartments along Main Street in Manayunk were trapped and had to be rescued.
The hotel my husband and I stayed in, back on July 31st and August 1st, right off City Avenue, the Residence Inn, (owned by Marriott) had to have guests evacuated by helicopter because of Ida. Meanwhile, in Center City, the Vine Street Expressway (I-676) was partially submerged before the barrage of rain stopped completely.
I don’t think anybody in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and certainly Louisiana, where they were slammed and then slammed again by Hurricane Ida, will ever forget the first day of the month of September 2021.
This much I do know: When officials tell you a Hurricane is coming or a Tornado is coming, you better pay attention. When they say evacuate, you better grab up medications if you need them, your I.D. cash, credit cards, and a change of clothing for a few days for yourself and any family members you have with you.
Hurricane Ida touched down in Louisiana on Sunday, August 29, making landfall near Port Fourchon as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 mph. A storm becomes a Category 5 at 157 miles an hour. Ida then churned inland, bringing catastrophic winds, heavy rainfall, and tornado watches, along with the danger of flash and urban flooding plus life-threatening storm surge along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Ida developed in the Caribbean Sea as a Category 2 hurricane on Saturday, August 28, 2021, but the storm rapidly strengthened as it moved toward the Louisiana coast with sustained wind speeds of 105 miles per hour. The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide is expected to cause flooding by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Ida’s landfall coincided with the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina‘s landfall in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, 2005. It ties Hurricane Laura (2020) and the Last Island Hurricane (1856) as the strongest to ever hit Louisiana.