Bensalem Flooding: Roads Closed In Latest Extreme Weather

BENSALEM, PA — Heavy rains Wednesday afternoon and night due to the remnants of Hurricane Ida led to yet more flooding for Bensalem, where extreme weather events have become all too common this year.

Several roads were closed Thursday morning, as the Neshaminy Creek reached near-record flood levels according to the National Weather Service. The creek crested at 20.84 feet Thursday, half a foot higher than its predicted level and just shy of its highest flooding on record (22.8 feet).

Neshaminy Creek begins to flood at just 9 feet of water, the NWS reports.

Schools in the Bensalem Township School District are closed Thursday.

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Bensalem reports road closures due to flooding this morning and overnight in the following areas, according to PA 511:

• On Route 513, in both directions between Lynbrook Drive and Bensalem Boulevard. All lanes closed.
• On Haunted Lane, in both directions between State Road and Bristol Pike. All lanes closed.
• On Galloway Road, both directions between Grace Avenue and Richlieu Road. All lanes closed.
• On Otter Street, State Road, Mill Street, and Radcliffe Street westbound between Street Road and Camer Drive. All lanes closed.
• On Gibson Road, Bristol Road, Chinquapin Road, and Old Bristol Road between Grove Avenue and Old Lincoln Highway. All lanes closed.

This has been a historic and frightening summer for Bensalem, where early July saw extreme flash flooding and late July brought a high magnitude tornado. As a rapidly changing climate brings more catastrophic weather like this in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf recently called on FEMA to change how it evaluates aid fund qualifications in order to help residents after these disasters.

Bucks County also experienced tornadic storms last night, in what has rapidly become a hazardous weather event in the Philadelphia region. Bucks County's government offices closed Thursday, in part citing power outages due to the dramatic weather.

"It’s going to be another challenging afternoon and evening with torrential rains and flooding," State Representative Kathleen "K.C." Tomlinson wrote Wednesday night. "Please stay safe."

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