The severe weather that prompted Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. to declare a state of emergency June 30 has also led to a PPL call for backup in fixing the damage in the region.

Hozza told The Press Wednesday contractors were called from other areas to help restore power and phone service to the township following the storm. He said PPL made the decision to hire the extra help late Tuesday night.

The mayor called the state of emergency around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday because of the number of power lines down and the necessary road closures. He said the storm occurred during the time when the police department normally switches shifts, with the severe weather causing the first police shift to stay later and assist the second shift in maintaining public safety during the aftermath of the storm.

Hozza said employees from the township's public works department were also asked to stay past their normal time at 3 p.m. to help remove fallen trees from the roadways.

"We are filing a disaster declaration with the state of Pennsylvania," Hozza said.

Extensive storm damage also occurred in Coplay.

Lou Bodish, president of Coplay Borough Council, said the public works department employees there did "an awesome job" fixing some of the damage.

"We just purchased a used bucket truck and it came in very useful," he said. The truck paid huge dividends, he said.

"The town was hit very hard, the clean up is just beginning," Bodish told The Press Tuesday. "The storm knocked down trees, power lines and utility poles. There were at least 3,000 people with out power for several hours; some of Coplay and Whitehall residents are still without power."

Hozza added there were no fatalities or serious injuries of township residents from the storm, to his knowledge. At least one firefighter was injured and hospitalized, but he was released from the hospital by the following day, Hozza said.

He had advised township residents in a Facebook post the day of the storm to avoid unnecessary travel and the downed power lines until PPL says so. He also asked residents to remove debris from nearby storm drains to assist cleanup efforts.

Hozza told The Press he was concerned with the number of residents who had been taking videos of the storm and the aftermath instead of seeking shelter away from windows.

On Wednesday, Hozza had not received any calls from the National Weather Service at press time, and it was not confirmed whether the storm was found to be a tornado. He said he had not driven to the scene, but described evidence of a possible tornado on Columbia Street, where rows of corn on only one side of the street had been flattened.

"One side is standing and the other side is flattened as if that's the path of a tornado," Hozza said.