Torrential rains cause flooding and sink holes in Mount Holly

MOUNT HOLLY — Torrential rains drowned the township and other parts of central Burlington County on Monday and early Tuesday morning, causing sinkholes to form and basements to flood.

Although two homes in Mount Holly had structural damages from floodwaters and sinkholes, officials said the town appeared to have been mostly spared from the catastrophic creek flooding that has plagued the county seat from recent storms.

“There are not a lot of damages that we’ve seen yet,” police Chief Steven Martin said Tuesday following the storm, which dumped nearly 7 inches of rain on the township and other parts of the county during a 12-hour span Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Most of the 6-plus inches of rain fell within 1½ hours between 1:15 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., the National Weather Service reported.

“It came down with a deluge,” said Jim Bunker, observing program leader at the weather service’s station in Westampton. “It was pretty localized, but that amount of rain in so short a period, it’s impressive.”

The rain caused a creek known as Buttonwood Run to flood and multiple sinkholes formed along Cherry Street, including one that caused a wall in a home to collapse and a portion of its foundation to wash away.

The house was occupied by a single renter, who was alerted by neighbors and evacuated unharmed.

“There was a lot of water here,” Mount Holly Fire Department Capt. Kevin Gimeno said Tuesday. “Looks like the water of the creek came up to about five feet or so, maybe a little over, and it washed away the ground in front of the house … Thankfully, nobody was hurt in it.”

The house was declared uninhabitable due to the damages and Public Service Electric & Gas also shut off the utilities, officials said.

The name of the displaced renter was not available Tuesday. Township officials said he was the only resident who had to be evacuated. A second home on Cherry Street also sustained severe damages but was already vacant, officials said.

Numerous other homes in the area experienced basement flooding and additional sinkholes formed in the yards and driveways of four other homes on the street.

“The entire Cherry Street was shut down along with Mount Holly Avenue and Buttonwood and parts of Mill Street, and the corners of Rancocas and Mount Holly Bypass due to flooding,” said Councilman Jason Jones, who lives on Cherry Street.

“I received about three inches of water in my basement and I also suffered sinkholes in my driveway and a few spots in my yard that washed away,” Jones said.

The north branch of the Rancocas Creek at Iron Works Park in Mount Holly also hit flood stage Tuesday morning, but the resulting flood was considered minor.

County Route 626 between Route 541 and King Street in Mount Holly and Westampton was closed overnight due to flooding, as was Route 541 at Burrs Road in Westampton and part of Hartford Road, near Union Mill Road in Mount Laurel, according to county spokeswoman Charlene Webster.

Hartford Road was still closed Tuesday afternoon.

The deluge of rain was reminiscent of some past storms that impacted Mount Holly, including Hurricane Irene in 2011, but the resulting flooding was much less severe and short-lived.

During Irene, between 6 to 7 inches of rain fell across the county and caused major flooding on the Rancocas Creek, displacing residents from some 300 homes, mostly in Mount Holly.

Martin, who is also Mount Holly’s acting manager, said the police department moved its vehicle fleet from the municipal complex on Washington Street to higher ground Monday night due to concerns about flooding, but he said no serious damages had been reported from the storm.

Township officials also were coordinating with the county Office of Emergency Management to open gates at Mill Dam in order to reduce further flood risks along the Rancocas.

Cherry Street resident Elizabeth Stevens said a sinkhole formed in her side yard shared with a neighboring home and her basement also was flooded. She was worried about additional storms causing more damages.

Bunker said more storms were likely this week, but he said the extreme rainfall that fell in Mount Holly was uncommon.

“It was your typical summer storm, but it came through with a good amount of moisture and that’s why we had torrential rainfall in Mount Holly,” he said.

Less rain was reported in other parts of the county, including about 3 inches in Hainesport and parts of Mount Laurel and 4 inches in Florence.