For flooded Manayunk, what a difference a day makes

Saturday afternoon, as dozens of twenty-somethings, relaxed on a deck alongside the Schuylkill River listening to a rock band in bright sunshine at Manayunk's Mad River Bar and Grille, it was hard to imagine that a day earlier, the deck, and the street behind it, had been in the river, not overlooking it.

Friday afternoon, with the river at about 13 feet above its normal level, the intersection of Main Street and Shurs Lane where Mad River sits was under three feet of water and mud. Mad River's RiverPalooza, its annual fall festival, was in deep water - literally.

"It was insane; this whole stretch of Main Street was engulfed," said Max Tucker, one of Mad River's owners. "It was disgusting."

Fortunately, Tucker said, the staff had a day's warning, and overnight Thursday, had moved tons of food, drink and equipment above the water level. As the water receded, the cleanup began, ending at about 2 a.m. Saturday.

Tucker credits the city with rescuing the festival. "They were amazing; the water department pumped us out; the streets department got to work; they were on our side," he said.

Jackie Fendrock, 21, was flooded out of her apartment in Eagleville, Montgomery County, on Friday; she's staying with a friend. She came out to the RiverPalooza festival "to hang out, have fun and enjoy the beautiful weather," she said. "They did a good job," Fendrock added. "I would have never known" that the place she was standing was awash 24 hours earlier.

Words like that were music to the ears of Joan Przybylowicz, spokeswoman for Philadelphia's office of Emergency Management. Przybylowicz said that 18 Streets department workers, with 13 pieces of equipment, had been out on Main Street Friday, working until 9:30 p.m. to clear out mud and debris. "We're glad to hear that," she said. "This just demonstrated the commitment of the city government to our citizens."

While many Manayunk businesses were up and running again by Saturday, and many escaped any damage at all, it wasn't all good news.

The Manayunk Dragon Club, which operated from a floating dock just up Main Street from Mad River, had five of its six boats swept away, along with the $25,000 dock they had been moored to, said team coach Mike Blundetto. A sixth ended up shattered, wedged in among some trees a few hundred feet down the river from where it had been moored.

Blundetto spent his Saturday rescuing the dock, which was in danger of floating further down the river, and looking for the remaining boats. Three of the $7,000 craft, he said, "went over the falls and into the Delaware." The rest had not been located by late afternoon Saturday. Four of the boats had been a recent gift from the People's Republic of China to the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts, he said. "It's terrible."

The storm that hit the area dumped more than 10 inches of rain in some areas, overwhelming smaller waterways, and prompting evacuations and water rescues, mostly in Philadelphia and its western suburbs. The city broke daily rain records on Thursday and Friday, with 2.41 inches and 2.99 inches respectively.

Tens of thousands were left without power, and there were two area deaths. Thursday morning, state police said, 47-year-old Ihor Shyra of Brooklyn, N.Y., was killed when his SUV spun into a tree along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Chester County. Early Friday, 51-year-old Donna Woodruff of Green Lane was found dead in a flooded car along Skippack Road, which had been swamped by an overflowing creek.

Still, the major flooding that had been feared did not materialize, for the most part. The Delaware River, for example, crested Saturday morning; it stayed for the most part within its banks.

The river level rose rose no higher than 18 feet at Trenton - two feet below flood level - and began to recede at 11 a.m.

The closest call had come 10 hours earlier in Easton, where the crest came within about a foot of flood level.

Farther south, police in Yardley Borough and Lower Makefield Township had barricaded short stretches of River Road when, in the early morning, the rising waters crept a few inches over the two lanes of pavement.

Contact staff writer Dan Hardy at 610-313-8134 or at dhardy@phillynews.com.