As Philadelphia and its suburban counties prepared for flooding and high winds from Hurricane Irene this weekend, Mayor Nutter warned Thursday that the storm could be the worst to hit the area in a half-century.
Rainfall could exceed seven inches, "which would send all streams, creeks, and the Schuylkill into flood stage," Nutter said. "Flash flooding in the street can also be expected. Tidal flooding along the Delaware River also is possible."
At 6 p.m. Thursday, Delaware Gov. Jack A. Markell declared a state of emergency and ordered nonresidents to evacuate coastal areas. He urged residents in beach communities to evacuate as soon as possible.Philadelphia might experience sustained winds between 40 and 50 m.p.h. and gusts up to 60 m.p.h., which "could cause significant damage or downage to trees, power outages, and other infrastructure disruptions," Nutter said.
"This storm is coming," he said. "The only question is its severity. If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, prepare to evacuate as needed."
Peco Energy has placed extra personnel and crew on standby and was working to arrange for support from Commonwealth Edison in Chicago.
The city will provide another update Friday and possibly declare a severe weather emergency, depending on the storm track. Already, Philadelphia's rainfall this month has totaled 13.11 inches, surpassing the previous record for any month - 13.07 inches, set in September 2009.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, citing the hurricane, canceled its planned summer meeting of 1,500 members next week in Philadelphia.By Dennis Bakay at 12:30 pm on Thursday August 25, 2011 In what is already the rainiest August in Philadelphia history things are about to get worse, much worse. Thunderstorms rocked the Philadelphia area this morning and will continue to do so later Because of the rainy weather, mushrooms have been cropping up all over, but that doesn't make them a crop to eat.
Don't even try to identify harmless ones, warns Rebecca Boylan, consumer horticulturalist with the Penn State Cooperative Extension in Montgomery County.
"We always assume that nothing is edible," she said.
Even if you can see animal bite marks.
At least four people in New Jersey were hospitalized this week after ingesting wild mushrooms, according to the state's Poison Information and Education System.
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