Mayor Parker issued a Declaration of Disaster Emergency after severe weather moved through Philadelphia on Saturday. The storms ripped roofing from buildings, flooded streets, and downed hundreds of trees and power lines. City crews were working Sunday morning, and residents in West Philadelphia and Wynnefield were dealing with the damage.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the city's 911 system received about 3,000 calls during the storm. A Philadelphia Housing Authority building in West Philadelphia lost part of its roof, and officials said 30 residents were displaced and were being provided temporary shelter.
West Philadelphia roof damage
Tyreese Niblack described the damage after the storm hit West Philadelphia. "I thought we got hit by lightning. That was my initial thought, but I'm like, wait, the power's still on," he said. The declaration gives city leadership a formal emergency framework while response teams keep working through damage reports.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said response teams are addressing incidents based on severity. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Lawson said crews are prioritizing life safety issues first, with blocked streets and homes taking precedence over debris on the side of a block. Residents can report damage through the city's Damage Reporter Survey at phila.gov/damagereporter.
Wynnefield flooding near 57th Street
In Wynnefield, heavy rain turned streets into rivers near 57th Street and Lebanon Avenue just before 3 p.m. Minutes later, several cars were underwater and more than a dozen parked cars were pushed by rushing water and slammed into poles or each other.
Omar Hand said, "Basically, we stopped for the rain. Before we knew it, in a matter of seconds the car was flooded and underwater." Ryan Fortson said, "I looked outside - my car drifted from there all the way to that side of the pole." Basil Jubilee added, "Next thing you know I saw all of our cars over here just come down the block."
Qiana Futrell's flooded home
Qiana Futrell said water filled the first floor of her home. "It was up to my thighs. I lost everything. Literally everything," she said. She also said, "My insurance don't cover it. I don't know how I'm gonna recover." The city said there were no reported injuries even as residents lost homes, cars, and belongings.
That mix of no injuries and major property damage is what has shaped the response. Lawson said crews are going first to homes where people cannot get out and to roadways that are blocked, while Parker said the city would keep working as long as needed on the streets of Philadelphia. \"How long will it take? It will take, Philadelphia, as long as it needs to take so that the men and women who are hard at work on the streets of Philadelphia doing this work right now - we won't put that kind of pressure on them in terms of a certain time limit,\" she said.
