Cleanup efforts under way after water main break floods Nicetown shopping center

A 48-inch water main burst Friday afternoon, flooding a shopping center in the city's Nicetown section, and requiring dozens of evacuations, authorities said.

The flooding erupted around 4:30 p.m. outside the ShopRite at the Bakers Centre shopping center at Fox Street, near Roberts Avenue. Six million gallons of water were lost before the main was shut off about 5:40 p.m.

Water-main breaks occurred at the shopping center in January 2014 and again in June 2015. Another occurred nearby in September 2015. The mains are more than a century old.

The cause of the break remains under investigation and repairs could take many days, but water service will not be disrupted, said John DiGiulio, spokesman for the Philadelphia Water Department.

DiGiulio, who went to the shopping center Saturday afternoon, said cleanup efforts were under way and the center's parking lot was no longer flooded. Stores were being dried out and dirt removed from the parking lot.

He said a few stores were open, such as ShopRite, Dollar Plus and Hair Buzz. Meanwhile, other stores, including Ross, Got the Look and a liquor store, were closed Saturday.

- Robert Moran and Julie Shaw