City Provides Updates on Ida Recovery

Urges business and homeowners to report damage to City ASAP

PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia provided the following updates regarding cleanup and recovery from Ida:

Reception Centers: The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) two reception centers, which were opened for people who were impacted by storm damage and flooding, are now closed. If people are in need of shelter, please call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Guidance from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation: Residents and river users are reminded that State law prohibits all recreational boating, except rowing sweeps and sculls (and their attendant safety boats) below the Girard Bridge. In addition, City and State officials are urging extreme caution for any recreational activity on or along the Schuylkill River while storm damage assessment continues.

Damage Assessment: Beginning today, OEM and the City’s Department of Licenses and Inspections are working with partners from FEMA, PEMA, and the U.S. Small Business Administration to document the damage in affected locations in the city. The team will visit Manayunk, East Falls, and Center City. The process is expected to take several days.

Note that on Friday, September 3, Mayor Kenney issued a local emergency declaration.

Information and Resources for Residents and Business Owners: Businesses and homeowners are urged to take photos of any storm or flood damage. If it is safe to do so, take photos before any repairs are made. To help the City understand the extent of damage and to see where resources may be needed, we are urging residents and businesses impacted by the storm to answer a short survey and upload any photos they may have into OEM’s damage assessment tool at phila.gov/oem/storm. This tool and the on-site damage assessment by OEM and partners helps the City inform state and federal agencies about local damages and access future resources to aid recovery. Damage can also be reported to 311 during standard hours, which includes interpretation services for non-English speaking business or home owners.

Cleanup Assistance: Crisis Cleanup is a national partner that is available to help homeowners who experienced storm-related damage that require assistance. The information collected is made available to all the helping agencies in the area that provide free crisis cleanup services.  These volunteer-based teams generally perform tree removal, mucking, mold remediation, tarping, debris removal, rebuilding, and other essential services. Those needing assistance can sign up by calling the national toll-free number at 844-965-1386. Crisis Cleanup is volunteer-based, so assistance is based on volunteer capacity.

Residents and businesses can find information about flooding response and resources on the City’s Flood Management Program page, including resources for areas impacted by flooding; this is available online here. 

The Philadelphia Department of Commerce is gathering information about neighborhood business areas that have been affected. If your area has a number of businesses that have been impacted by the flooding, and you haven’t been in touch with Commerce about this damage, you can contact this City’s Office of Business Services at business@phila.gov.

The Philadelphia Water Department’s customer contact center (215-685-6300) will be open. If a Water customer’s property experienced flooding, the Department asks that they complete the City’s Flood Report Survey to provide information that can help the City plan for the future.

Photos: Photos of flooding are available for media use. (Credit: A. Lee / City of Philadelphia.)

Sanitation and Recycling Collections: City services are curtailed on Monday, September 6 in observance of Labor Day. There will be no trash and recycling collections. Collections will be one day behind schedule for the rest of the week. Residents should set their materials out one day behind their regular collection day for the week of September 6. Trash and recycling collections will continue in areas unaffected by flooding. Residents should expect delays in areas where roads are impacted by flooding.

Stay Informed: 

  • Text STORMPHL to 888-777 to receive text message updates about resources for recovery.
  • Sign up for emergency alerts and weather updates from ReadyPhiladelphia at www.phila.gov/ready.
  • For more weather tips, visit the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management online at www.phila.gov/ready.
  • For official updates from the City, follow @PhilaOEM on Twitter or Facebook.
  • Other City Twitter accounts to follow for information: @PhiladelphiaGov, @Philly311, and @PhilaStreets.
###