One Week After Hurricane Ida, Upper Dublin Reflects On Widespread Damage

UPPER DUBLIN, PA — It was one week ago today when what turned out to be an EF 2 tornado rolled into Pennsylvania, making its way through suburban Philadelphia and leaving a path of destruction in its trail.

One of the hardest hit communities in Montgomery County was Upper Dublin Township, a tightknit community in the eastern part of the county.

As the twister with around 130 mph peak winds came through the municipality, it took victims in the form of felled trees, downed power lines, torn rooftops and damaged school buildings.

“The damage was severe as it crossed the Pennsylvania Turnpike and then moved into a residential area here in Upper Dublin,” Township Manager Paul Leonard said.

Leonard spoke with Patch Wednesday, the same day that local government officials were relocating to temporary offices.

The township rented space in the Commerce Drive office park in the Fort Washington section of Upper Dublin while the local police department secured space in the newly constructed community library at 520 Virginia Drive.

On Wednesday, Leonard said township and police personnel would be setting up shop in their new respective spaces, a daunting undertaking given everything that would have to be relocated. This includes electronic systems, files, police equipment, basically everything that is needed to run a local government.

'Lost' The Township Building

“An EF 2 tornado is going to do heavy damage,” Leonard said. “And it certainly did that. We lost the township building for all intents and purposes.”

The township building on Loch Alsh Avenue houses both the municipal offices and the police department under one roof – a roof that, sadly, is now completely gone as it fell victim to the tornado spawned by Hurricane Ida. Images of the township building’s missing roof were plastered across television news stations and on social media soon after last week’s storms.

Leonard praised the National Weather Service for alerting area residents to the tornado ahead of it arriving in Upper Dublin. Leonard, who has experience in emergency management, said it’s important for people to know that they should never wait until they see a funnel cloud before taking cover; they should take precautions as soon as they receive a tornado warning from weather forecasters.

“The weather service did a really good job of getting the notices out,” Leonard said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that reacting to the tornado warning saved some lives.”

Unfortunately, there was one recorded death in Upper Dublin; a local woman died after a tree fell onto her home.

Last week’s tornado snapped and uprooted many trees in the township, Leonard said, which caused numerous incidents of downed power lines. He said PECO did a “phenomenal” job of working tirelessly to restore power to areas lost, with workers deploying close to 45 trucks to the Upper Dublin community.

Community Update

Leonard said the township is currently planning to set up an outdoor, socially distanced meeting this Friday at 4 p.m. at 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, the site of the damaged township building, to update community members on recovery efforts.

It is designed as an opportunity for folks to learn about where storm damage cleanup and recovery efforts stand in the township.

Leonard urged individuals to visit a special section on the township’s website for continued updates on storm recovery, as well as any information about the planning meeting on Friday.

One silver lining is that the recently constructed Ft. Washington Fire Co. headquarters weathered the storm just fine. Leonard said the building, constructed of steel as opposed to wood, made it through Hurricane Ida unscathed.

Leonard also said that two large dams Upper Dublin constructed around eight years ago along the Sandy Run stream, a tributary of the Wissahickon Creek, likely helped to stave off a lot of potential property loss.

Anyone interested in offering financial support to those hit hard in Upper Dublin can make out check out to the Upper Dublin Citizen Emergency Fund and mail it to the Fort Washington Fire Co. at 1245 Fort Washington Avenue, Fort Washington PA 19034.