Eventhough Irene has come and gone the affects in some New Jersey towns are still being felt…
Eventhough Irene has come and gone the affects in some towns are still being felt…
I have many friends and family that live in areas that were and still are directly affected by Hurricane Irene; many friends are still without power, while others have no phone/cable or internet service and most are on a boil water advisory.
Even my office’s water pressure and supply was restored late yesterday but in some towns the damage is unimaginable. In case you are not aware; here are are some updates on local areas affected by this disaster.
ESSEX COUNTY
• The township of Fairfield has been devastated, with the Passaic River still rising and moving faster than anticipated, according to Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura.
The county is putting together a rapid deployment team made up of officers from throughout the county, Fontoura said earlier today. About 30 members of the National Guard are helping with the emergency response, he said.
“People are going to be on an island for a couple of days,” Fontoura said. “It’s going to be devasting. The worst is all to come.”
UNION COUNTY
• Springfield sustained heavy flooding and downed trees and power lines in various areas within the township, prompting road closures and the evacuation of residents from low-lying areas adjacent to the Rahway River. As of this afternoon, many major roadways bisecting the township are still impassible.
— The eastbound and westbound lanes of Morris Avenue are still closed at the bridge over the Rahway River on the border with the Township of Union.
— The eastbound side of Route 22 is closed at the Springfield-Union border where the Rahway River crosses the highway. The west bound side of Route 22 had been closed down earlier at the Hillside Avenue intersection but 22 West now open.
— Springfield Avenue at the border with Union near the Route 78 highway bridge is closed in both directions but the Route 78 highway is open but the on and off ramps are not accessible to vehicles due to the flooding of the Rahway River. Police had to use a large front end loader from the Springfield DPW to deal with either stranded motorists or to reach the Villa’s apartment complex at 200 Springfield Avenue.
— Meisel Avenue by the Union County Meisel Park is completed shut down between the intersections of Meisel Avenue & Laurel Drive to Meisel Avenue & Riverside Drive. The roadway is completed flooded with large trees down as well.
— Riverside Drive is closed between Meisel Avenue to Morris Avenue due to severe flooding with side streets off of Riverside Drive (South Maple Avenue, Joanne Way, Battlehill Avenue and Washington Avenue being impassible due to flooding).
— Smithfield Drive is closed between Milltown Road and Evergreen Avenue also due to flooding from the Rahway River. Laurel Drive is closed due to heavy flooding between the Redwood Road intersection and the Dogwood Terrace intersection.
— Mountain Avenue is closed in front of the municipal building at 100 Mountain Avenue due to flooding along with South Trivett and North Trivett Avenues
• A state of emergency is no longer in effect for Union County, and although some towns are up and running just one day after Hurricane Irene, other areas are much worse off and are still heavily affected by flooding and power outages.
An estimated 60,000 residents were without power as of this morning. Power to Scotch Plains and Fanwood was shut off due to water damage at electrical facilities.
More than 130 police rescues were performed — many of which by boat — in Cranford, Rahway and Springfield.
• The flooding left behind by Hurricane Irene continued to engulf parts of Union County, where the Cranford Police Department had to flee its headquarters and set up a mobile command unit.
Cranford was the hardest hit by the flooding in Union County, county spokesman Sebastian D’Elia said. The storm has left the municipal building without power or email service, and phone service is sporadic, according to the municipality’s website.
The police department has been forced to set up a mobile command unit near the firehouse on Springfield Avenue. The downtown “was like a river,” where people could be seen kayaking, D’Elia said.
“That’s just plain stupid,” D’Elia said. “It’s an uncontrolled waterway. You don’t where youre going to get dragged.”
Elsewhere in Union County, 50 people had to be rescued on West Grand Avenue in Rahway, D’Elia added.
Union County on Sunday night lifted its restrictions on non-emergency travel, allowing people to drive around. In the densely populated county, getting around remains the biggest challenge, D’Elia said.
D’Elia urged people to exercise caution on the roads.
“Now people can get around, but they have to use their discretion,” D’Elia said. “Don’t be on the roads for the hell of it. Theres a lot of people that want to go around to see the damge in their communities.”
Manville, NJ
9:00 AM]
MANVILLE — The New Jersey National
Guard is not taking disciplinary action against the five soldiers who drove into
floodwaters in Manville Sunday morning and narrowly escaped drowning,
authorities said today.
A task force commander spoke with the two
drivers, and there is a “formal inquiry” into the incident, but that is routine
procedure for all events that are considered vehicle accidents, said Chief
Warrant Officer Patrick Daugherty, a spokesman for the New Jersey National
Guard.
The incident was seen on a YouTube video that went viral after the
storm.
“Based off the facts of the inquiring officer, if disciplinary action is
necessary, they will take whatever appropriate actions are necessary,” he
said.
Daugherty said the soldiers did not know the depth of the
floodwaters. They were dispatched from the Morristown Armory and to Netcong to
aid local law enforcement when they received another mission and were diverted
to Manville.
The soldiers attempted to ford the newly formed river at the intersection of
South Main Street and Kennedy Boulevard, but as they did the engines and
electricity of their two vehicles stopped functioning, Daugherty said.
“At the time they entered the water, they believed they were fine until
everything turned off. At that time they panicked a little bit,” he said.
People MUST be careful and think about their safety first. It has been stated that Irene may end up being the most costliest storm in U.S. History.
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