Quakertown families plead with governor, borough for help after floodwaters destroy homes, memories
After floodwaters ravaged homes in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, damaging priceless family memories, residents are pleading for help from borough officials and Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Brian Hughes was streaming on TikTok in his brother's basement off Washington Court in Quakertown Tuesday night. Until, he says, he reached down and felt something wet.
"Hey, if you're asking why I'm not on LIVE … you can see all this water," Hughes can be heard saying on a video he shared with CBS News Philadelphia.
In the video, the water in his brother's basement was a little higher than Hughes' ankles. But things got much worse quickly.
"I heard the window just crash. Boom! Shattered window," Hughes said. "And water was just coming in like a river, man."
Another video Hughes shared shows water nearing the top of the basement steps. And Hughes was far from alone.
Several neighbors in this stretch of homes were inundated with floodwaters as storms brought several inches of rain in less than an hour. Pam Bowden was home at the time with her four grandchildren. Eventually, she says they evacuated to her sister's home in Perkasie.
"Quakertown Borough came over and said we're cutting your power. They came in, took my meter, and because the kids are under 18, we had to leave," Bowden said.
By Wednesday afternoon, Bowden and others had returned. The power was still not restored, and neighbors were just trying to assess the damage left behind.
"I had at least 5 feet of water in the basement," Doug Koffel said.
"I don't know where I'm getting the money from. Hopefully my money tree in the backyard is still standing," Bowden said. "I'm sorry. I have to laugh, because I've cried enough."
The neighborhood was filled with the sound of generators as folks tried to pump water out of their basements. They told us they had to be clear just to get the power back on, and to see the things they may have lost.
"Pictures and things ... things that have no monetary value that we've saved and thought they were safe in plastic bins," Bowden said.
"I'm a carpenter and I have a lot of tools down there. So I'm sure — I have no electricity, so I can't see very much down there — but all my tools are down there, so I'm sure it's a lot of loss," Koffel said.
While Tuesday night marked an extreme event, neighbors tell us this is a flood-prone area. Koffel says in six years, he's seen around five floods. For Bowden, at least two in four years.
Neighbors say when storms hit, water runs down the parking lot on one side, off the road on another, and down a slope in the back.
"I wish the borough would come out and help everybody," Koffel said.
"We're asking Governor Shapiro to declare this a flood zone since no one else will," Bowden said.
CBS News Philadelphia reached out to the borough manager's office and is waiting to hear back.
