Three people died in Montgomery County after heavy rain and flooding hit Wednesday. The county coroner's office is investigating the storm-related deaths, but all indications are one woman died after a tree fell onto her house. Two others drowned, one inside a home and the other inside a car.
National Weather Service officials are confirming that Bucks County saw two tornadoes during Wednesday's storm. One EF-one tornado touched down in Buckingham Township, and wind speeds peaked at around 100-miles-per-hour. The other EF-one tornado first touched down in New Jersey and made its way to Bristol in Bucks County, with wind speeds around 90-miles-per-hour.
Damages are still being assessed from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, but officials are reporting that hundreds of rescues were conducted during the historic storm. PEMA Director Randy Padfield says one such rescue saw rescuers needing to be rescued. "In one of the southeast counties teams were out conducting flood evacuations and water rescues. One of the teams in their boat had a number of firefighters get pinned up against a bridge by moving water and ended up having to be rescued themselves and actually transported to the hospital for evaluation," Padfield said.
Following tornadoes and flooding caused by the remnants of what used to be Hurricane Ida, Gov. Tom Wolf blames the destruction on climate change. "Climate change has actually increased the intensity of storms and the volatility of our weather in general," the governor says. Wolf believes climate change is responsible for making dry areas drier and wet areas wetter.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says the state's official death toll stands at 23 following the unprecedented floods brought on by Ida. He says the majority of these deaths occurred in people who were trapped by rising flood waters while inside vehicles.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is warning residents to be careful this Labor Day weekend. Officials say water levels will be at dangerous levels this holiday weekend, and heavy debris and fast moving currents could lead to deadly situations. They urge residents not to go boating in rivers and instead consider going to a lake as those waterways could absorb the rainfall. As always, you're also urged to wear life jackets and be alert for debris underneath the water.
Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health added 4816 new cases of COVID-19 to the state's total, which is now 1,308,284 since the pandemic began. 90 new COVID-related deaths were also reported, leaving the commonwealth with 28,325 overall. Right now, 1858 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, 481 of whom are in the intensive care unit.
New Jersey's one-day coronavirus case count surpasses 2000. The Garden State reported 2115 additional infections and confirmed 18 new deaths. Despite the rise in cases, was the first time since July that the state's seven-day average has dropped from its previous week.
Frank Siller is bringing his 'Never Forget Walk' to Easton tomorrow. Siller is the CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which exists to honor the memory of Siller's brother who died at the World Trade Center while working as a firefighter on 9/11. Fran Siller in on a 500-mile walk from the Pentagon, to Shanksville, to the World Trade Center to raise money for the foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes to families of fallen first responders. He's expected to arrive on Northampton Street in Easton tomorrow morning around 11 o'clock.
Gov. Tom Wolf has come out hard against a Texas abortion law that prohibits any abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Wolf says, "The Texas abortion ban defies all understanding of modern individual health care. I stand firm in my conviction that so called 'pro-life' policies are actually anti-choice and counter the notion of individual freedom and lack a sound scientific basis."
After trailing 6-0 in Washington, the Phillies roared back to win 7-6. Manager Joe Girardi says it has been and must continue to be a team effort if the Phillies are to make the playoffs. "Everyone needs to do their job. That's the important thing and we had contributions from everyone," Girardi said. The Phillies have won six in a row and trail Atlanta by two games in the NL East.
The Philadelphia Flyers and Joel Farabee have agreed to a six-year extension worth $30 million. Farabee led the Flyers last season with 21 goals.