Community Corner

Irene Starts Rolling In

Some areas could see more than a foot of rain from the storm.

The first bands of Hurricane Irene have started to hit the Phoenixville area. 

Red Cross shelters are being set up in Pottstown, Norristown, Exton and West Grove. Chester County shelters open at 5 p.m., and the shelters in Montgomery County will open at 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service (NWS) stated that the Philadelphia region is still under a hurricane warning, as well as a tropical storm warning for Chester and Montgomery counties.

Find out what's happening in Phoenixvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As of 8 a.m., the center of Irene was an estimated 340 miles south-southwest of Atlantic City, with the storm intensity of 85 mph, the NWS reported.

Hurricane Irene is expected to pass close to the coasts of Delaware and New Jersey late Saturday night into Sunday morning, while possibly bringing damaging winds, torrential rain with local and coastal flooding, the NWS predicts.

Find out what's happening in Phoenixvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With an estimated six to 10 inches of rainfall expected, with a few locations to get more than a foot, flooding is highly likely, the NWS warned, saying that the Schuylkill River will have “the potential to react rather quickly” and is “highly susceptible to flooding.”

On Friday Gov. Tom Corbett declared a state of emergency throughout Pennsylvania, with Delaware County officials issuing a “Declaration of Disaster Emergency.”


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