According to the National Weather Service, Philadelphia was impacted on July 11 by a series of at least four severe microburst storms that brought destructive straight-line wind gusts across parts of West and South Philadelphia.
Mayor Cherelle Parker signed a Declaration of Disaster Emergency that allows the city to accelerate and reinforce ongoing recovery efforts including expediting contracts with private vendors, such as tree contractors, to supplement city crews.
Recovery operations continue through the Emergency Operations Center, where city departments are coordinating with PECO, SEPTA, the American Red Cross and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, among other partners.
Residents can also get more information and recovery updates directly from the city by texting “STORMPHL” to 888-777.
Residents whose homes or property sustained storm-related damage are encouraged to complete the city’s online damage survey. As of July 12, more than 100 reports were submitted, helping officials verify damage, prioritize recovery resources, document storm impacts and evaluate potential state and federal disaster assistance should eligibility thresholds be met.
Impacted businesses should complete the Damage Reporter and/or contact the mayor’s Business Action Team at 215-683-2100 or business@phila.gov.
Important steps:
- Document flood damage with photos and videos.
- Save receipts, repair estimates and other documentation related to damages.
- Contact their insurance provider, if applicable.
- Keep records of any business interruption or losses resulting from the flooding.
Businesses may be eligible for the city-funded Emergency Grant Program that provides grants of up to $20,000 to eligible Philadelphia small businesses experiencing an unexpected emergency or disaster, including flood-related damage.
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation arborists and crews are actively responding to fallen trees across the city. As of July 13, Parks & Recreation received 340 tree emergency calls, having inspected 220 trees. Crews are prioritizing trees blocking roads, trees on homes and cars and hazards impacting Parks & Recreation sites as well as summer programs.
Those who need to report a tree emergency must:
- Call 911 if a tree is blocking a road or has fallen on a home, car or other property.
- Call PECO at 800-841-4141 if downed wires are involved. If there is a downed power line, stay away and assume it’s energized.
- Use 311 for non-emergency tree issues.
Those experiencing property damage from a severe storm will need to present documents for insurance claims to the city office through a damage tracker or to a government agency that may provide financial assistance. Health and safety are priorities. This includes cleaning up and food safety after a disaster or power outage.
“We will do whatever it takes to make sure that every neighborhood impacted is safe and sound as soon as we possibly can,” Parker said in a statement. “It will take as long as it needs to so that the people who are hard at work on the streets of Philadelphia doing this work right now — we won’t put that kind of pressure on them in terms of a certain time limit. We also want them to cross all t’s and dot all i’s.” ••
