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Hurricane Irene Causes Major Flooding In Manayunk

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The overflowing Schuykill River shut down the East River Drive and Main Street in Manayunk between Ridge and Shurs Lane on Sunday.

Business owners and residents, many who were around in 1999 during Hurricane Floyd, took all of the necessary precautions, using sandbags and boarding windows to prevent serious damage – but Main Street businesses were still facing a big clean-up.

The Manayunk brewing company used two pumps to keep the water level in the dining room under control, but bartender Gretchen Mullen feared it was a losing battle.

"The water is already out on the back deck and it's coming from there, so the water, I think, is going to be coming in a lot faster than they can pump it out."

According to Mullen, this is the fifth time the restaurant's been flooded, so the staff knows how to get prepared.

"Yesterday, we moved all the furniture and stuff, everything to the top floor hoping the water doesn't get up there."

Neighboring businesses were also getting inundated, but they seemed to be opting for a clean-up when the flooding was over strategy. That included the very aptly named businesses just at the foot of Shurs Lane -- Mad River.

Reported by Pat Loeb, KYW Newsradio, Dray Clark, CBS 3.

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