Fire chief: Clear leaves off drains to cut down on flooding

You can cut down on street flooding in your area if you make sure storm drains on the street near you are clear of leaves and other debris, according to York City Fire Chief David Michaels.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Wednesday night into early Thursday morning for York County; that came following severe storms that rolled through the area earlier in the evening, garnering a warning of their own.

The storms dumped 2.5 inches of rain on York County, by York Water Co.'s count. Rainfall spiked around 8:30 p.m. at almost three inches per hour, according to their online data, which is measured at the company's York Water Company's Brillhart pumping station on Indian Rock Dam Road in Spring Garden Township.

"It put some rain down on us," Michaels said.

Flooding: Knowing heavy rain was on its way, emergency responders were keeping an eye on some of the usual flooding suspect areas around the city. Roosevelt Avenue near Route 30 is one regular offender, Michaels said.

But flooding in the city didn't get that bad, he said — they dealt with a few calls for basement flooding, and a couple of cars ended up stuck in standing water, but the department didn't field any water-rescue calls, which in this case would mean floodwater had trapped someone in a car.

A couple of other departments around the county did field water-rescue calls Wednesday night.

Michaels said East Philadelphia Street at Broad Street flooded a bit during the storms, and that was a bit of a surprise. He said that was thanks to the fact fallen leaves had clogged the storm drain, which is an issue this time of year. He said it would be great if people would make sure the drains nearby them are clear.

"We do recommend if you have a drain by your house ... if you can clear (the leaves) off, it will stop some flooding," he said.

— Reach Sean Cotter at scotter@yorkdispatch.com.