It’s been more than four months since the remnants of Hurricane Ida came through the region with a powerful force, producing two of the most devastating weather events to hit Montgomery County in years.
The Sept. 1 storm produced historic flooding levels of local waterways and manifested an EF-2 tornado that barreled through an eight-mile stretch of Horsham and Upper Dublin townships.
With rainfall amounts of 7 to 10 inches between Sept. 1 and Sept 2, Bridgeport, Norristown, Upper Providence Township, as well as other municipalities along the Perkiomen Creek became major areas of concern, according to Jason Wilson, deputy director of the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety.
The Perkiomen Creek in Graterford sat at 1.39 feet prior to the start of the Sept. 1 storm, and the Schuylkill River in Norristown was at 8.67 feet, according to Todd Stieritz, public affairs coordinator for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety.
By 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, the Perkiomen Creek in Graterford crested at 20.62 feet, according to the National Weather Service. By Thursday morning, the Schuylkill River in Norristown crested at 26.85 feet, 13 feet above flood stage.
“Both waterways have already surpassed all time records,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Val Arkoosh during a virtual press conference following the storm.
There were 9,034 calls that came into the county’s 911 dispatch center, with the greatest call volume between 6-7 p.m. on Sept. 1, according to Wilson, who added that 467 water rescues were conducted.
Four deaths were recorded locally from the storm including a 68-year-old Fort Washington woman, a 70-year-old Schwenksville man, a 65-year-old Bridgeport man, and a 65-year-old Perkiomenville man, according to respective Bucks and Montgomery County Coroner’s offices.
“We’ve had tragic loss of life, tragic loss of property, of livelihoods, of businesses, small, medium and large, people displaced out of homes, landscapes that we no longer even recognize,” said U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-4th Dist, during a press conference days after the storm.
‘Norristown looks like an island’
Extensive flooding submerged several areas throughout Montgomery County.
“Norristown looks like an island,” said Norristown Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Thomas O’Donnell in a Sept. 2 interview.
“That day was 36 hours; we worked continuously. The fire department was nonstop,” O’Donnell said. “We went to 40, 50 dispatch rescues. Probably rescued hundreds of people. I mean we were going from call to call to call.”
Norristown Firefighter Anthony Molchany has been a firefighter for nearly two decades. Ida’s remnants were unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.
Molchany said he initially anticipated some activity when he reported for his shift.
“But as the night kind of progressed, it just became more and more challenging I’ll say, and the rescues, and everything, just became more and more imminent,” he told MediaNews Group. “Everybody out there really needed us to come get them. They were stuck.”
His skills were tested that night.
Molchany remembered heading with the department’s swift water rescue team to Whitpain Township to help Centre Square Fire Company firefighters save a man who’d been grasping to a tree after getting caught in the rushing Wissahickon Creek.
Along with other agencies, Molchany said firefighters tried several times to reach the man in distress, but were unsuccessful.
“We opted to put the boats in the water. We waited for another swift water rescue team to help us set up an advance line system, the line system to rig the boat off, and we basically found an opening in a tree line,” he said. “We shot through [and] still couldn’t reach him. So we ended up going into the water, myself and another firefighter, to go get him.”
“It was harrowing to say the least,” Molchany said.
In nearby Bridgeport, the borough was rocked as floodwaters poured through the area on Sept. 1, as the rain came down through the late afternoon, evening and overnight hours.
“We are used to the water rising, but never like this. Nothing like I’ve ever seen in my life, let alone in Bridgeport,” said Bridgeport Mayor Mark Barbee, a 10-year resident of the borough.
Bridgeport Police Chief Todd Bereda said more than 500 people were displaced as a result of the storm, and there were roughly 300 evacuations carried out, of which 75 were conducted by way of swift water rescue.
“There were several boats here, and they helped all the people that either couldn’t or didn’t decide to evacuate at that time,” he said.
Tornado mangles parts of Upper Dublin
Meanwhile, the remnants of Ida also caused an EF-2 tornado to barrel through Fort Washington in Upper Dublin Township to Horsham Township, with “estimated wind peaks [of] up to 130 mph,” the National Weather Service Mount Holly N.J. office tweeted on Sept. 2.
In Upper Dublin Township, motorists were met with scenes that some described as looking like a war zone complete with road blocks, downed wires and trees.
“It’s a difficult time in Upper Dublin right now,” said Ira S. Tackel, a township commissioner. “For those who are in areas that weren’t hit hard by this tornado, the devastation that we’ve experienced is unprecedented.”
The twister ripped roofs off of numerous structures, including the Upper Dublin Township building, located at 801 Loch Alsh Ave. in Fort Washington.
Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr. toured the inside of the Upper Dublin Township building, located on 801 Loch Alsh Ave. in Fort Washington. Portions of the roof were blown off and ventilation and insulation was strewn about the facility.
“Well, I had seen pictures but seeing it in person, it’s horrific,” Lawrence told MediaNews Group.
Township officials said there were a handful of personnel inside as the tornado barreled through the area. Upper Dublin Police Communications Officer George Weldon was there.
“It sounded like a freight train at first, and then we all kind of looked at each other as our ears popped as if we were in an airplane, followed by the crash of the roof followed by the rain, and the water coming into the building,” Weldon continued.
“It was frightening. More of my colleagues really thought we weren’t gonna make it out,” he said.
Cell phone service was also affected in the initial days following the storm.
“Back over here we had a 120-foot cell tower with multiple carriers on it. It’s gone. It came down,” Tackel said.
Governor tours storm-ravaged areas
Gov. Tom Wolf visited the county twice in the days following the storm. He was in Horsham and Upper Dublin townships on Sept. 3 surveying damage from the tornado.
Debris surrounded him as he addressed members of the media.
“I know that for many, this will be a long and complex recovery, and worse, some families are dealing with the loss of loved ones,” Wolf said in a statement. “I want to thank everyone for their patience and willingness to help their friends and neighbors.”
On Sept. 8, Wolf went to Bridgeport and heard about the devastating floodwaters from the Schuylkill River that plagued the borough.
Pennsylvania’s governor walked through Bridgeport where he saw piles of discarded items, damaged homes, mud residue and residents and business owners, working to pick up the pieces.
“This is devastating,” Wolf said.
Storm forever changes lives of residents
Bob Nyce, of Skippack Township, told MediaNews Group the floodwaters reached the roof of the home he and his wife had been living in since 2002. They thought the floods from last year’s Tropical Storm Isaias were bad enough, but Ida’s 8-foot flood surge was worse.
“It came and it came with force,” Nyce said, speaking from his son’s RV, parked at the top of the road
“It blew out one wall” and carried away a piece of furniture he estimated to weigh 800 pounds. “I have no idea where it is, it’s just gone,” he said. Another equally heavy piece was out on his front lawn.
“I can’t get into the house because the washing machine and refrigerator are jammed up against the front door,” Nyce said.
Bridgeport resident Laura Houck said she lost her house and her business, Frosty Falls Ice Cream, to Ida.
“[I’ve] never seen anything like this,” she said. “It happened faster than the blink of an eye, and as quick as we could get everybody out it was still probably the scariest thing that’s ever happened in my life. I lost everything.”
Houck noted that members of her family living elsewhere in the county were not immune.
“My brother lost his house in Fort Washington,” she told Wolf. “My mother’s on the verge of just emotional destruction, but we’re alive, and we can clean this up. We just need help.”
Norristown resident Yvonne Turner recalled the deluge of water as the remnants of Hurricane Ida moved through the area.
“It was a little scary obviously when you’re surrounded by 27 feet of water. But we got out. We feel very, very blessed,” Turner said in a phone interview with MediaNews Group.
Turner shares a residence with her brother, her adult son and his spouse. While Turner said her family “lost three vehicles,” in the Sept. 1 storm, they were able to escape the floodwaters.
“We fortunately live on a floor where the window backs up to the roadway, so some people in our complex did not have the option, but we had the option to climb out of the window and make our way out of the complex,” she said.
Plymouth Meeting resident Mildred Joseph recalled water rising as high as their kitchen, Joseph recalled, damaging mementos, clothing and other items that were stored in the basement.
“I lost everything. I lost everything,” she said.
“It’s so stressful. Yes, it’s very stressful because all you’re thinking about is your kids,” she said. “That’s all I’m thinking about. I’m not even worried about myself. I’m worried about my kids. How to keep things normal for them.”
Joseph was one of hundreds of others displaced as a result of the storm.
“It’s incredible how the damage is different here in the eastern side of the county, it’s more wind from the tornado, but [in] Bridgeport and Norristown and in Perkiomen Valley, we had a lot of flooding,” Arkoosh told MediaNews Group. “People have been displaced there. So it’s going to take some time, but we need neighbors to help their neighbors.”
Cleaning up after Ida
In Bridgeport, Bereda said “262 tons of trash” were cleared in the days following the storm.
“So the cleaner streets that you see today are nowhere near what actually happened,” he told Wolf.
In Upper Dublin, Township Manager Paul Leonard secured a one-year lease on a temporary space on Commerce Drive to relocate township operations.
As stakeholders from local, state and federal agencies began the assessment process, the Sept. 7 assessments found 447 properties that sustained some form of damage ranging from affected to destroyed.
The breakdown consisted of 269 major, 91 minor, 46 destroyed, and 41 affected, according to Wilson.
“That number seems somewhat low compared to the reports that we’ve received, and these are the homes that FEMA and PEMA went out to look at in the days after the storm,” he said.
Additional damaged areas included “municipal and county critical infrastructure,” which Wilson said consisted of bridges, roads, properties, as well as water and sewer treatment plants.
In continuing the clean-up process, an agreement between the county’s public safety department and DRC & Debris Tech for debris management was reached on Sept. 5, according to Wilson.
There have been 170,000 cubic yards of storm-related debris removed and consolidated at the Upper Dublin Township-based location. Wilson said in his presentation that pickup is occurring throughout the county, and is coordinated between the firm and local municipalities.
Montgomery County works to pick up pieces
County commissioners issued an emergency disaster declaration following the storm. It was formalized on Sept. 9 and renewed in late October. The 60-day window was set to lapse on Dec. 21, according to the resolution, which prompted the county’s elected officials to extend it once again during a Dec. 16 meeting.
“Hurricane Ida has caused vast damage in our county. Emergency response is still ongoing and the recovery will be long,” said Kayleigh Silver, administrator of the Montgomery County Office of Housing and Community Development.
In the days following the storm, Montgomery County officials established a Multi-Agency Resource Center in downtown Norristown to help direct residents impacted by the storm to a number of services.
An American Red Cross Shelter was set up at Norristown Area High School for those in need.
When President Joe Biden authorized a federal disaster declaration for Pennsylvania, FEMA got involved. A disaster recovery center opened at Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell campus on Sept. 17.
There, residents could apply for individual disaster assistance and speak with representatives from a number of federal, state and county agencies.
County officials are working to cover the cost of a number of resources including housing, food and transportation. “We’re just trying to give them as many resources as possible,” said Montgomery County Deputy Chief Operating Officer Barbara O’Malley.
A number of local organizations have contributed food for people who’ve been displaced as a result of the storm such as the Upper Merion Food Cupboard, the YWCA and the Montgomery County Anti-Hunger Network.
Officials encouraged anyone in need of housing assistance to call 211 or text their zip code to 898211. Dennis Miller, an administrator for the Montgomery County Office of Veteran Affairs, said that the county’s community connections program can also be reached at 610-278-3522.
“Many of the affected are still in hotels, but a lot of people are still holed up in houses without electricity or water or living in overcrowded conditions and we’re worried about them,” Miller said. “We ask them to seek assistance. We’re here for you; we’ve always been here for you.”
Montgomery County Communications Director Kelly Cofrancisco said there are 297 people in 136 households being housed in 150 hotel rooms as of Dec. 23.
“We have staff that go out to the hotels, and make sure people who go there get greeted, get this packet of information, that they go through everything that they’re welcomed that they know that there’s someone that can contact them and people have just been so appreciative of that,” O’Malley said.
Along with shelter opportunities, other services have been provided to residents impacted by the storm including food, transportation and information about financial assistance.
Turner stressed the importance of connecting residents with a number of other support services such as retrieval of documents, mental health and more permanent housing solutions.
“All of the resources that we have at our disposal we’re trying to make sure that we make people aware of them so they can access them and use them to get back on their feet,” Turner said.
Montgomery County Chief Financial Officer Dean Dortone added “the county is projected to spend approximately $2.5 million through year-end 2021 to provide sheltering, food, transportation, and case working assistance for displaced residents as a result of Ida. We are hopeful some of these costs will be reimbursed by FEMA.”
Arkoosh stressed that the deadlines to apply for storm-related assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Small Business Administration has been extended to Jan. 10, 2022.
“Over $11.2 million in federal aid has been distributed to Montgomery County residents so far,” Arkoosh said during a Dec. 16 board meeting. “If you sustained damage during the storm, and have not yet applied, please be sure to do so as soon as possible.
Mental health resources were also critical for those impacted by the storm.
“We can dispose of the debris, we can find new places to live and we can buy more stuff,” Miller said. “But the trauma of the storm has cut through all of us, and now that the floodwaters have receded, literally and figuratively, I ask you to take care of yourself and take care of your mental health.”
Miller mentioned three resources: the Montgomery County Mobile Crisis telephone number is 1-855-634-4673, the National Suicide Hotline is 1-800-273-8255 and those looking to contact the Veterans Crisis Line should call 1-800-273-8255 and “press 1.”
Community comes together
Several organizations collected donations for victims in the days and weeks following the storm including the Patrician Society and Ambler Main Street. The Kiwanis Club Of Ambler held a carnival to raise funds. The Montgomery County Foundation Inc. launched the Montco Emergency Disaster Relief Fund.
Other residents simply helped each other.
In the wake of the destruction community members created the “UD Helping Hands” Facebook group where participants could solicit assistance and offer donations. It was also where the “Chainsaw Gang” was born. Spearheaded by Upper Dublin High School Math Teacher Barbara Mass, area residents would help chop up downed trees from people’s yards.
Through times of tragedy, township officials have seen how the community has leaned on each other throughout the clean-up process.
“In crisis, they often talk about that you really see what your community is made of, and the quality of your people that really will come to the aid of your fellow neighbor and that was amazing,” said Upper Dublin Police Chief Francis Wheatley. “I’ve seen that not just the first 24 hours, but I’ve seen it over the last two weeks.”
Fifteen Norristown Fire Department firefighters were honored; plaques were presented as proclamations detailing the local first responders’ accomplishments were read by Norristown Municipal Council President Derrick Perry on Dec. 7.
Accolades for acts of valor and merit were presented, along with awards to units for distinguished service. Each firefighter recognized had their own unique experience when they trudged through floodwaters, helping those in need on that fateful night and into the hours of Sept. 2.
“Well it’s always important … to recognize the members of the fire department who really put their lives on the line to go out and help the community in such a terrible time. The work that they did was just heroic,” O’Donnell said.
For more information and resources, visit montcopa.org/ida.
MediaNews Group reporter Evan Brandt contributed to this report.
