Severe weather spurs flooding, disrupts rail service in Pa., N.J.

Updated: 6:20 p.m. EST

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Severe storms containing heavy rains and strong winds have spurred flooding in the suburbs of Philadelphia, disrupting travel and damaging some property.

The storms started Wednesday night and continued for several hours through early Thursday. It was the latest round of severe weather in the region in recent days, and officials say the combined storms have left the ground saturated with more rain in the forecast.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties around 2 p.m. Thursday, deploying state personnel and equipment to help towns respond to the damage and prepare for potential flash floods later in the day.

Flooding causes major traffic problems on I-295, South Jersey highways. PATCO service s… pic.twitter.com/QO26NauuA3

— Camden County Police (@CamdenCountyPD) June 20, 2019

The flooding forced the closures of several roads and temporarily suspended PATCO service in New Jersey, as officials said several stations were flooded.

⚠️SERVICE SUSPENDED DUE TO STORM DAMAGE⚠️

Here are additional photos of flooding inside Woodcrest Station and trackbed damage at Ferry Avenue. Crews are working to restore service as quickly and safely as possible. At this time, it is not known when full service will resume. pic.twitter.com/3gNuH4uRxK

— PATCO (@RidePATCO) June 20, 2019

PATCO resumed service at noon Thursday and has reopened all stations, including Ashland as of 5 p.m. The transit system said it would resume its normal weekday schedule at 6 p.m.

✅ALL STATIONS ARE OPEN. 🌞

Trains are running every 10 minutes making all station stops.

We will resume our normal weekday schedule after 6 p.m. tonight.

— PATCO (@RidePATCO) June 20, 2019

In Pennsylvania, the storms caused the roof of an Acme supermarket in Flourtown, Montgomery County to collapse. Employees who were inside the store said the collapse caused pipes in the sprinkler system to break, sending water throughout the business. But all the workers got out safely.

In Westville, New Jersey, crews were cleaning up Thursday from flooding along Broadway that damaged several homes and flooded dozens of cars. The small town is just off the Delsea Drive near the Deptford Mall and abuts Big Timber Creek.

More of the flooding in Westville. This is on Broadway. A lot of cars flooded out at Kasper Automotive. @News12NJ pic.twitter.com/y5hVEvYem1

— Erika Shych (@erikashych) June 20, 2019

Edward Torres said when he woke up, he found a trash dumpster floating by.

“It was a disaster,” he said. “I came out to smoke a cigarette at 7 o’clock. I saw all this action, a trash can in the street, the post office is — everything is messed up, everything is a disaster.”

Homeowners were waiting for insurance adjusters and business owners were hoping to clean up and reopen their doors as soon as possible.

Brandon Myers said the flooding was a rude awakening.

“We woke up at 4 a.m. and the only thing we could see is the sunroof on our car and we had about two feet of water in our living room,” Myers said. “Everything was destroyed. The electric was still working, but we shut it off because it started smelling like the metal burning taste.”

Pam Gordy, who owns a brew pub up the hill, said the flooding was so bad, her rain gutters backed up and the roof leaked.

“This is our weekend for our one-year anniversary and those plans are in limbo because we aren’t sure what is going on,” she said.

Residents are worried that more rain could prevent the flood waters from receding. A flash flood watch remains in effect for the region, with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain possible “in a short time” this afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Murphy’s emergency declaration allows municipalities to apply for reimbursement from the federal government for costs they incur responding to the storms.

WHYY’s Nicholas Pugliese and Tom MacDonald contributed reporting.