Pennsylvania counties regrouping after severe storms rocked the region
Fallen trees, dangling power lines and some very close calls in several Philadelphia-area communities. Cleanup was well underway on Friday after a night of severe storms rocked the region.
Several homes and buildings suffered damage to their roofs due to the storms, which packed wind gusts up to 70 mph. The damaging winds also brought down power lines that crews continue to work to repair.
Downed trees, power lines in Bucks County
Bucks County continues to clean up after Thursday night's storms. Some roads remained closed Friday, covered by trees, utility poles and wires.
The sound of generators filled many neighborhoods, like off of Bustleton Pike and Bristol Road in Churchville.
In Trevose on Elmwood Avenue, a tree toppled onto the roof of a home. The homeowner's son told CBS News Philadelphia his parents were inside when it happened, but they are OK.
"It was terrible. I was doing dishes at a quarter to 6 p.m. I heard a noise that I had never, ever heard before. I said, 'What the heck was that?!'" said Theresa Fisher, who lives across the street from the home.
The family told us the home was deemed uninhabitable.
Home garage in Glenside flattened by tree trunk
Tim McCaffrey, who lives on Wharton Road in Glenside, watched from inside his home as Thursday night's powerful storms uprooted a massive tree behind his house. The tree trunk flattened the family's garage, which McCaffrey said is totaled now.
"All of a sudden, I saw it start falling toward the house, through the back window, and I just kind of jumped out of the way with the dog and tried to get out of there as quickly as I could," said McCaffrey, who has lived in the home on Wharton Road for five years.
A few houses up the street, Drew Hmiel came home to find pieces of their roof taken out by another fallen tree.
"Structurally, inside, everything's hunky dory. So it's looking okay for that," Hmiel said, who has lived in the home for 30 years.
Hmiel said that had they been home for the storm, one of their cars likely would've been crushed under the tree. He's taking the damage in stride.
"You know, I was thinking of like redoing the deck anyway. Looks like we have to now," he said.
But the damage wasn't limited to a single block.
In Wyncote, utility crews had part of Greenwood Avenue closed as they worked on lines. Nearby, a fallen tree came within feet of a house, and on Rodman Ave in Jenkintown, tree crews cleared limbs from the top of a home.
Despite all this damage, people that CBS News Philadelphia talked with say they're just happy to make it through unharmed.
"At least no one was hurt, everyone was safe and sound," McCaffrey said.
"No one was hurt, and we'll get this cleaned up," said Hmiel.
Cars damaged in Roxborough after tree fell onto Ridge Avenue
The storm that brought a heavy downpour and hard blowing winds on Thursday left behind damage throughout the Philadelphia area.
The City of Philadelphia said an emergency tree response is underway, and it's working to clean up more than 200 trees that were knocked down during the storm.
In Roxborough, a tree was nearly snapped in half before it landed on three cars on Ridge Avenue and Martin Street. As of Friday afternoon, the tree was completely blocking the road, diverting traffic for motorists.
John Bennett, who owns , was inside his business, which is at the intersection, when it happened.
"It started pouring out of nowhere. Then, all of a sudden, you hear a crack, a boom. You look outside and there's trees on top of cars," he said. "It was pretty scary."
The damage captured the attention of residents who visited the area to take photos of the aftermath. All of them were amazed at how the ferocious winds were able to bring down the large tree.
"It was frightening. I live down there. And our neighborhood, if you have large trees, like they're all coming down," said Randi Sargent.
Luckily, no one was injured.
The storm also pulled a tree out of the sidewalk on Ridge Avenue and Rector Street. At one point, it also blocked the road before it was moved.
Deb Stantiz said she's amazed by the power of the storm because she says it didn't last very long.
"It lasted for about 20 minutes. It was a little scary," she said.
Stantiz and others are just happy it wasn't worse.
Fallen tree crashes into roof in Upper Providence Township
Thursday night's storm came fast and furious, leaving a widespread path of destruction in Delaware County.
Delaware County dispatchers answered 2,800 911 calls in a two-hour period between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, officials said. To put that in perspective, dispatchers typically respond to 1,100 calls in a 24-hour day.
Strong winds knocked down trees onto homes, roads and power lines.
"A lot of branches, a lot of leaves," Dana Jackson from Upper Providence, whose parents are dealing with a fallen tree in their driveway, said. "Fortunately, by the grace of God, it did not hit their house, so we are blessed for that. But a lot of work to do in the yard."
But Jaime Haughton wasn't so lucky. A tree crashed onto her home on Lakewood Drive in Upper Providence, puncturing the roof.
"I was halfway up the steps when I saw the tree just come through both of my boys' rooms," Haughton said.
Some residents said they've never seen anything like this.
"My roommate was like, 'Hey, there's a tornado warning. We need to go to the basement,'" Suzanna Erlich from Upper Providence said. "So then everyone went to the basement."
In Havertown, strong winds knocked a tree onto a car at Upland Road and Washington Avenue. The damage is still being assessed.
"It happened so quickly," Elise Sutton from Havertown said. "The storm just came in, and my son's car is the one that's under the tree."
The storm knocked out power at numerous intersections. Twenty-four hours later, some people are still waiting to get their electricity back.
"A lot of people have a lot of expensive food in their refrigerator," Jim Tyrrell of Havertown said. "And that's what I'm worried about, too, because we might lose it."
With restoration efforts underway, the community is stepping up. Jim Archambo, a deacon at Blue Route Vineyard Community Church in Media, brought a generator to his friend on Lakewood Drive, who's still waiting for power.
"This is what we do," Archambo. "I love helping people. That's very rewarding for me."
