Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, June 12 to 13, 1996

Nearly stationary thunderstorms brought three to eleven and a half inches of rain within a four hour period to southeast Bucks County. The 11.55 inches of rain that fell in Langhorne represented a greater than one hundred year single day storm. Two men drowned, a 54-year-old and a 52-year-old. Damage was estimated at 14.5 million dollars, 13 million to property and 1.5 million to state and local roads. A state of emergency was declared that evening. The county was declared a major disaster area later in the month. Ninety people escaped possible injury by evacuating Gold's Gym in Middletown Township just before the roof collapsed from the heavy rain at 610 p.m. EDT. Nearly every major roadway was made impassable by the torrential downpours including Pennsylvania State Route 413 and U.S. Routes 1 and 13. Even Interstate 95 was closed at 8 p.m. EDT in Penndel Borough. Creeks that flooded included the Neshaminy, Brock, Mill, Queen Anne, Indian, Silver and Deer Run. The hardest hit townships were Middletown ($11.5 million in damage), Falls, Lower Makefield and Bristol. The hardest hit boroughs within these towns were Bristol, Langhorne, Morrisville, Penndel and Yardley. Seven bridges were washed out. Four homes were destroyed, 62 suffered major damage, 215 had moderate damage and 381 incurred minor damage. About 30 businesses were also damaged including a bowling alley in Langhorne that was ruined. The first fatality occurred about 8 p.m. EDT. A 52 year-old-man on his way to his daughter's cancelled graduation drove his car into the Silver Creek. The vehicle plunged about 15 feet into the swollen creek. His body was found near the 15th hole of the adjacent Yardley Country Club. Before he arrived, the creek had washed out the single lane 107-year-old bridge on Reading Avenue. Ironically another woman was probably saved because her vehicle landed on top of his. She managed to get out of her car and clinged to a tree until she was rescued. The second fatality occurred about 1230 a.m. EDT on the 13th in Penn Valley/Falls Township. A 54-year-old man's vehicle stalled in four feet of water on Newbold Road near the Penn Warner Industrial Park. He rescued his mother from the flood waters, but returned to his car. He was then plowed over by a wall of water from a passing truck. His body was found near his vehicle's bumper.Middletown Township had the most flood damage. The worst was along the Mill Creek and on Wyoming Avenue. In the Penndel Borough dozens of people were trapped on the second floor of their homes on Wyoming and Delaware Avenues. Two hundred shoppers at the Oxford Valley mall were stranded until about midnight EDT. Flooding along the Mill Creek continued through Bristol Township. Boats were used to rescue stranded motorists. The Bristol Senior Citizen Center was submerged in four feet of water. Four bridges were washed out in Falls Township and emergency personnel waded in four feet of water to rescue stranded motorists. In Lower Makefield Township, the flooding washed out the SEPTA train tracks. Cars were pushed out of the driveways onto the streets by the flood waters. Three bridges were washed away. In Yardley Borough, flooding along the Brock and Silver Creeks and the Canal inundated the area again for the second time this year. About 200 to 300 persons were rescued. Cars were buried in water. Evacuations were ordered between the Canal and Delaware River. Officials feared gas explosions from eroded roadways and exposed lines. Power was not restored until Friday the 14th. In Bensalem, the Neshaminy Creek flooded. A 40 foot boat and its dock were ripped from their moorings and smashed into the U.S. Route 13 Bridge. Farther upstream the Neshaminy Creek in Langhorne crested at 11.8 feet at 115 a.m. EDT. Flood stage is 9 feet. In addition to the 11.55 inches of rain that fell near the Oxford Valley Mall, other reported rainfall amounts included 9 inches at the Middletown Country Club, 6.1 inches in Yardley, 5 inches in Neshaminy Falls, 4.8 inches in Richboro and 3.3 inches in Southampton.