Heavy rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Isaias caused flooding throughout the region, closing roads, flooding yards and knocking out power to residents.

The worst of the storm affected counties to the east and south.

The Aquashicola Creek jumped its banks due to heavy rainfall earlier in the day from Palmerton to the Monroe County line.

Around 6:30 p.m., the Aquashicola began rising into neighborhoods in Palmerton - first the Sixth Street Alley, then Lower Delaware Avenue.

Around 8 p.m., crews closed Delaware Avenue between Forest Inn Road and Seventh Street due to the rising creek. After 9:30 p.m. the borough evacuated the 800 and 900 blocks of Delaware Avenue.

Carbon County EMA Coordinator Mark Nalesnik assisted Palmerton firefighters Tuesday evening. They evacuated residents and provided a temporary shelter. No one used the shelter.

“We did an assessment with the crews, walked the streets, checked on the welfare and well-being. Everybody seemed to be OK,” Nalesnik said.

In Lower Towamensing, The Aquashicola flooded backyards and reached the deck of the covered bridge. Lower Smith Gap and Covered Bridge Road were temporarily closed.

On Tuesday evening, Beth Fisher stood looking at what was left on her garden as just the top of the frame stuck out from 5 feet of water in her yard in Little Gap.

Before the storm hit she had an abundance of squash, beans and cabbage. It was going to be a banner year. “We had over 30 spaghetti squash,” she said.

She had 10 chicks that she rescued about 2 p.m. as she saw the Aquashicola coming over its banks.

Luckily, the chickens were in a wheeled crate so she could just push them closer to the house. This is her first year raising chickens and she is expecting eggs by October.

“2011 was the last time I saw the water this high,” she said. That was when Hurricane Irene hit.

Brian Stankovich, senior shift supervisor for Monroe County Control Center, said there was plenty of flash flooding and some vehicle rescues as water poured into the streets Tuesday.

“Various parts of the county had multiple trees down, power outages and roads closed,” Stankovich said.

Some notable areas flooded included the Old Mill in Sciota, old Route 115 in Chestnuthill and Princess Lake in Ross Township. Roads closed included Frable Road in Chestnuthill, four-lane Route 209 in Hamilton Township and numerous others.

As of this morning, most closed roads were open, Stankovich said.

“Our crews responded efficiently and we had adequate resources to respond to the calls,” he said.

Palmerton Borough manager Donna McGarry said shelters were open as the call came to evacuate.

“We waited and it wasn’t needed, so I don’t know whether people went to homes or stayed at homes,” McGarry said. “We were prepared; we were just a spot to be, a resource for them. I know when they called about 10:30 (last night) they were going door to door still to see if anybody needed a place to go”

Cleanup begins today.

“Public Works is doing some cleanup,” she said. “I feel for the people who have water in their basement, I feel for them.”

McGarry said for as unfortunate as things were, it could have been worse.

“I think we were fortunate,” she said. “The town survived pretty well, considering.”

Slatington area

Carbon County was spared heavy rainfall compared to other counties in the area. Between 6 a.m.-noon, rainfall totals reached 7 inches in parts of Northampton County, and 5 inches in parts of Lehigh County, according to the National Weather Service. Areas of Carbon and Schuylkill had up to 2 inches, and Monroe, 3 inches.

The Slatington Volunteer Fire Department assisted about 50 residents who were displaced due to the rising of the Trout Creek.

The creek crested sometime after 11 a.m.

Thirty-four were residents of Lehigh County public housing. They were temporarily housed at a hotel near Lehighton.

The rest of the evacuated residents were provided shelter at the Northern Lehigh Middle School.

The fire department pumped several basements, according to Austin Berger, with the Slatington Volunteer Fire Department.

Debris in the Trout Creek ripped down a power line along Railroad Street, causing power lines to arc.

Slatington Borough Manager Dan Stevens said the Seventh Street Village was flooded and had to be evacuated, while Factory Street was totally flooded.

“We had severe flooding along Trout Creek,” said Stevens, who added that a pole fell into Trout Creek, and that the worst flooding besides the Seventh Street Village was on Factory Street. “We had issues all over town with flooding in people’s basements.”

Stevens said the borough spent this morning cleaning up.

“We still have streets closed down due to trees down on power lines,” he said. “There were so many trees down; they were everywhere.”

Stevens asked residents for their patience.

“We’re just asking the people to hang in there, work with us,” he said. “We have to work on the priorities.”

Lehigh Township Police reported flooding along Maple and Birch drives near Route 145 near the Bertsch Creek. Route 248 was closed due to a tree down. West Mountain View Drive was closed between routes 248 and 145 for a crash.

At least one fatality was reported due to the storm, in southern Lehigh County. A 44-year-old woman was driving her vehicle in Upper Saucon Township when it was swept away. She was pronounced dead at 2:25 p.m.

More flooding

Palmerton was also affected by localized flooding in the morning. The water covered Delaware Avenue in the morning and firefighters pumped basements.

“The pipes were just too full to take the quantity of water that we got there for a bit,” Borough Manager McGarry said.

There were reports of flooding along the Lizard Creek in East Penn Township and West Penn Township, Schuylkill County. Route 895 flooded near Germans Road.

“There were a few trees down, pump details, a little water across the road near the Lizard Creek,” said John Matz, Schuylkill County Emergency Management Coordinator.

Power outages

As of 2 p.m. PPL Utilities was reporting more than 38,000 customers without power throughout its service area in Pennsylvania.

In Carbon County, 466 were without electricity, including 173 in Penn Forest Township, 122 in Mahoning Township, 75 in Towamensing Township, 50 in East Penn Township, 18 in Jim Thorpe and a handful in Bowmanstown and Parryville.

Lehigh County had nearly 13,000 without power, including 473 in Slatington and 2,482 in Washington Township.

In Monroe County, 4,000 were without service including 1,254 in Chestnuthill Township, 727 in Polk Township and 75 in Eldred Township.

In Northampton County, more than 4,200 are out, including 892 in Lehigh Township and eight in Walnutport.

Schuylkill County had 479 without power, with 78 in Blythe Township, seven in Rush, 34 in Ryan, 77 in Walker and 52 in West Penn Township.

The light at Walmart in Mahoning Township was out starting Tuesday afternoon through the evening.

The majority were restored by morning.

As of press time, 66 were still out in Mahoning, 195 in Lehigh Township, 82 in Washington Township and 40 in West Penn Township. A few other townships had scattered outages.

Terry Ahner and Marta Gouger contributed to this report.