A massive water main break flooded roads and cars in North Philadelphia Tuesday evening. NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville speaks with two of the people who were rescued.
Crews rescued 11 people after a massive water main break flooded roads and vehicles in North Philadelphia early Tuesday evening.
The 48-inch water main broke near Westmoreland Street and Hunting Park Avenue around 6 p.m. while Elizabeth Anderson was driving in the area. She told NBC10 she mistakenly drove into deep water.
"Water started coming into my car," Anderson said. "So I had to stand on top of my car because it was like I was going to drown in my car."
When her front door didn't open, Anderson opened the back door and climbed to the top of her vehicle.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
"That was like, really, really scary because I can't swim," Anderson said. "So when I stepped into the water, I was like, 'Oh my God. I can't feel my feet.' So I jumped on top of the car," she said.
Responding crews used boats to rescue her and at least ten other people who were either stuck in their vehicles or a nearby U-Haul storage facility.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Bernard Young was one of the people trapped inside the facility.
"By the time I got out of there or tried to get out of there, I came to the front door. It was like Niagara Falls through the windows," he said.
The Philadelphia Water Department responded to the scene as vehicles became submerged in water.
No one was injured during the incident. Some residents reported water outages. A spokesperson for the Water Department said they hoped all of the water service in the area would be restored overnight as the water pressure builds back up.
Anyone who still doesn't have water after several hours however should call the Water Department hotline at 215-685-6300.
The water had receded and crews had left the scene by early Wednesday morning.
