(CNN) Flash flooding was prompting rescues from homes and cars Thursday morning in the Philadelphia area, including southern New Jersey, where high water also closed parts of Interstate 295 for hours.

Heavy rains Wednesday into Thursday morning -- up to 5 inches in some places -- caused creeks and streams to flood, trapping some cars in knee-deep water on roads and seeping into homes near Westville, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.

A swollen creek flooded part of I-295 near Bellmawr for hours early Thursday, trapping some motorists that had tried to drive through it.

By 6 a.m. Thursday, the trapped cars on I-295 had been towed and the floodwater was receding, but it was still too deep for cars to cross, leaving a large backup of vehicles on either side, CNN affiliate WPVI reported.

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