The rain-swollen Wabash Creek flowing in a tunnel beneath downtown Tamaqua burst through on Tuesday and flooded homes and businesses.

It was the first time in nine years that the waterway breached its containment tunnel.Damage from the force of the water combined with additional flooding from mountain streams and springs, impacting virtually all areas of the community."There are washouts at the road at Owl Creek," said Councilman Justin Startzel as he assessed damage townwide."It'll take weeks to clean up."The hardest-hit location was in the downtown area, where gushing, black water bubbled up from beneath the ground and tore through the macadam road surface at the 100 block of West Rowe Street.In the North Ward, the town's Bungalow Park and Howard Buehler Memorial Pool sustained considerable damage from mountain streams that turned into small rivers, carrying mud and debris into the large main pool and adjacent wading pool.Because of this, Mary Ann Krajnak, manager at the Lansford Pool, announced that Bungalow season pool passes will be honored at the Lansford Pool for the next five days, with a possible extension if needed. Tamaqua residents who do not have a season pass will be charged the pool's daily rate.The trouble stemmed from a series of heavy rain storms which appeared to stall over the community.Within hours, the Little Schuylkill River rose several feet.The Wabash Creek, encased in an 1850-era stone-arch tunnel, filled to capacity before the force of water pressure breached the tunnel and tore through West Rowe Street.At 5:30 p.m., during a torrential downpour, the macadam of the road surface buckled and lifted, as water gushed out and flooded Rowe, Berwick, West Broad, Nescopec and South Railroad streets along with homes and businesses.Many of those streets were immediately closed to traffic and at least one, West Rowe Street, appeared to sustain heavy damage extending beneath the roadway and will remain closed for the duration."It broke right through the street, right here," said Marian Hegarty, pointing. She stood with husband Sean as police and firefighters arrived to cordon off Rowe Street.Businesses in the unit block of West Broad Street reported basements flooded to the 8-foot level."The water came right up to the rafters below the first floor," said one store owner.Homeowners along two blocks of West Rowe Street reported a foot of water in their basements.Emergency responseFirefighters and plumbers manned pump detail, starting with a flooded basement at the Tamaqua train station.At the same time, heavy equipment operated by borough work crews lumbered through town as workers did their best to unclog storm drains and culverts.Tamaqua police patrolled the community throughout the day and into the evening as some roadways remained flooded, damaged and impassable."There are ducks swimming on Greenwood Street," said Officer Tom Rodgers.Visitors R. Thomas Berner and wife Paulette of Bellefonte were detained at Lewistown Valley due to rushing water that flooded country roads.Berner, a Tamaqua native, used his cell phone to take photos of the flooding."We're waiting at Heisler's," he indicated in a text message.Karyn Smith of Tamaqua was trying to walk home with groceries."How do I cross the street," she asked. "I'm afraid to step anywhere in case a manhole cover is missing."The Wabash Creek has a long history of flooding, most notably two destructive events in 1972 and 1969. Each time it filled streets and residences with mud and coal silt and caused damage to roads. In 1955, another flood spawned by Hurricane Diane caused the death of a 42-year-old Tamaqua man swept beneath a parked car.The creek flooded the downtown twice in 2006, first on June 27 and then again Nov. 16.Shortly after, the borough embarked on an ambitious project to make the waterway less prone to flooding.Improvements included river bed dredging, repair of its banks and stone arch, and installing a system to catch debris.During the peak of the flooding, the debris filter installed at the South Lehigh Street arch appeared to be effective in catching logs and branches.However, it appeared the tunnel simply couldn't accommodate the volume of water entering from all directions.Firefighters were swamped by residents' requests for basement pumping."They told me they'd add me to the list," said a Rowe Street homeowner, noting he had close to 2 feet of water to deal with.