'Just A Lot Of Damage': Downed Tree Branches Blocking Roads, Disrupting Rush Hour Traffic In Delaware County
DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) – The Philadelphia region was rocked by severe storms on Monday evening, especially Delaware County. Big branches came crashing onto Wallingford Road near the Springfield Mall.
The branches are still blocking the road, right in the middle of Tuesday evening's rush hour commute. Driver after driver is ignoring the road closure on Wallingford Road.
They're forced to stop and turn around because of branches that toppled onto the road nearly 24 hours ago have still not been removed.
"It looked like a tornado had been through. There's just a ton of downed trees," Swarthmore resident Beth Brown said.
Downed trees and branches are also making for a messy commute over in Aston, where a big tree blocked Knowlton Road for hours Tuesday morning.
In Swarthmore, low-hanging power lines stretched across streets. PECO reported about 9,000 homes and businesses were without power in Delaware County.
Li'l Tykes Childcare in Springfield had no electricity for a few hours Monday evening in the middle of its pickup time.
"All of a sudden, it was torrential and the winds were crazy," Springfield resident Courtney Kimmel said.
But now the cleanup is underway, like at the Tree of Life Church in Springfield, where branches broke off a 60-year-old tree and fell onto the church roof.
It's all making tree removal companies very busy.
"The hardest part about my job is the danger," Chris Buonadonna, with Strober Tree Service, said. "Tree work is extremely dangerous. It's one of the highest fatalities in the country. It's a dangerous line of work."
As of 5 p.m., PECO reports a couple thousand power outages in Delaware County.
