The Deluge

I was talking on the phone to a friend the afternoon of the heavy rain storm, and she idly speculated about how high the Brandywine Creek was getting. We are both former reporters, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the next thing you know we were in her huge pickup driving through Unionville, Brandywine Creek Road, Mortonville, Harvey's Bridge and Embreeville. We gawked in amazement at how high the water was, how fast it was going and how much debris it was carrying -- mostly tree trunks, but at one point I spotted someone's backyard BBQ zipping by.
All the usual spots were flooded out by the end of the day -- including of course Springdell and the bridges over the Brandywine at Pocopson and Route 1 -- plus some unexpected ones: I've never seen Apple Grove Road flooded before, but it was across the road near the Laurels. I saw some baffled-looking motorists driving very hesitantly on some of our gravel roads; they'd been detoured off Route 841 in Springdell. People have told me that their commutes home were the worst ever because of all the road closures.
All over social media, emergency services, police stations and municipalities were urging residents to avoid driving through standing water -- to no avail for some. Emergency personnel had to go out all over the place for "water rescues," including one at Harvey's Bridge in Newlin just minutes after we crossed it. Residents who live near the Embreeville bridge on Route 162 reported that foolhardy motorists persisted in trying to drive through the high water. Predictably, their cars stalled out.
Because the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District spans the Brandywine, schools were closed on Thursday, May 1, pushing the last school day back to June 16.