Hurricane Leaves Downed Trees and Flood Waters Sunday

Though Hurricane Irene sparred Northwest Philadelphia the devastation it wrought on the suburbs, flooding, power outages and downed trees struck Sunday. Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill and Roxborough suffered their fair share of hurricane woe, but the overflowing Schuylkill River flooded portions of Main Street and River Road in Manayunk all day.

The hurricane, which eventually was downgraded to a tropical storm by midday, left Philadelphia with 5.70 inches of rain and peaked with 52 mph winds, according to PhillyWeather.net.

From Ridge Avenue to Shurs Lane, flood waters closed businesses, submerged the street and even resulted in the arrest of two thrill seekers. By 2 p.m., Main Street bustled nearly at a normal rate (especially with the Spiral Bookcase's hurricane party) and the flood waters began to recede. Down on Flat Rock Road, the Venice Lofts condos flooded but residents had been evacuated Saturday. On River Road, residents—used to their precarious position—weathered the event and reported predictable, yet managable, flooding.

The scene throughout the neighborhoods on high ground Sunday following the major storm was calm, as crews and residents cleaned up fallen tree limbs and downed electrical lines. There was also a waiting game for the Wissahickon Creek to recede its flood waters.

In Mt. Airy, Lincoln Drive was closed for most of the day. Downed trees were reported on Lincoln Drive, Gowen Circle, Upsal Street, Duval Street, Roumfort Road, and other streets.

Similar scenes were scene in Chestnut Hill at Mermaid Lane, Bells Mill Road, Northwestern Avenue, and by the Valley Green Inn. With Wissahickon waters spreading all over campus, Chestnut Hill College cancelled classes on Monday. On Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, some traffic lights were temporarily out.

In advance of the storm, some churches preemptively cancelled Sunday service. However, many businesses—like Starbucks, Chestnut Hill Coffee, Bob's Diner, Manayunk Tavern, Wawa, High Point, RadioShak, CVS, and McDonalds—remained open.

At the storm's height, 297,000 PECO customers lost power in the Delaware Valley; however, as of Sunday morning, only about 3,500 city customers woke up in the dark.

In press appearances throughout the day, Mayor Michael Nutter credited citizens and first responders for handling the storm well. The mayor allowed a state of emergency to expire at noon and major roads began seeing traffic.

Above the flood stage, the Schuylkill River crested at 13.56 feet Sunday afternoon. Certainly a major incident, Hurricane Irene failed to reach the 1999 levels of Hurricane Floyd, which reached 14.10 feet.

SEPTA restarted bus service Sunday afternoon, but the regional rail remained suspended throughout the day. The Wissahickon Transit Center, though, remained closed due to flooding.

To read all of our Live Blogging throughout the storm, click .