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February 17, 2021

Water main break floods North Philly neighborhood prompting boat rescues

Emergencies Flooding
water main break philly @ThielAdam/Twitter

A water main break flooded some streets of North Philadelphia on Tuesday night, causing 11 people to need to be removed from the area by boat.

Streets in part of North Philly flooded Tuesday night when a water main broke and boat was needed to evacuate 11 people.

The flooding started around 6 p.m, when a large, 48-inch water main broke near 29th Street and Hunting Park Avenue in the Nicetown neighborhood.

At least 10 people inside a nearby U-Haul storage facility were trapped by the water surrounding the building and had to be rescued by boats brought by emergency crews. One person located in a car also reportedly was rescued by boat. 

No one was injured, 6ABC reported.

It is unclear what caused the water main to break said Adam K. Thiel, Philadelphia's fire commissioner and director of the Office of Emergency Management. The flood did not impact water service in that area of the city, the Philadelphia Water Department told CBS3, though some customers may have experienced a temporary reduction in water pressure, the agency said in a social media post.

A separate water main break in Southwest Philadelphia occurred earlier this month, causing a sinkhole to form in the Logan section of North Philly. An SUV that was parked nearby was temporarily swallowed up by the hole. No one were inside the car at the time, NBC10 said.


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