PHILADELPHIA — Two U.S. lawmakers urged Gov. Tom Wolf to declare a disaster emergency in the Kingsessing neighborhood and seek out other local and federal funding to help residents recover from mass flooding caused when a large water main ruptured this week, damaging homes and displacing several people.
In a letter to Wolf on Friday, Reps. Dwight Evans and Mary Gay Scanlon, both Democrats from Southeastern Pennsylvania, wrote that “a swift response is essential to provide support to Kingsessing and the families affected by this disaster,” and asked the governor to consider “all necessary state and local tools” — including a potential state disaster proclamation — in helping to repair infrastructure damage and assisting residents whose homes were affected by the flooding.
The 48-inch, century-old water main burst in the early morning hours Wednesday at 56th Street and Springfield Avenue, sending water gushing through the neighborhood — rushing into basements, surrounding cars and cracking asphalt, causing many homes to lose water, and forcing more than a dozen schools to shift to virtual learning for the day. At least five people were evacuated from their homes.
