Emergency Personnel Preparing for Flooding, High Winds this Weekend

Emergency personnel are bracing for what could be a troubling weekend as Hurricane Irene moves up the East Coast towards New Jersey.

As of Friday at 7:30 a.m., the category-two storm was generating winds of 115 miles per hour and was moving in a northwesterly direction at 14 miles per hour. Click here to view Irene's path as it moves up the East Coast throughout the weekend.

Wayne Police Chief John Reardon said township emergency officials are anticipating a lot of wind and rain when Irene finally hits the North Jersey area, which is forecast to be Saturday night into Sunday.

“If there’s a lot of rain, there’s going to be flooding again and the rain today didn’t help the issue,” Reardon said.

As of 7 a.m., the Passaic River at Little Falls is slightly below 3 feet high. Flood stage for the river is 7 feet. The National Weather Service projects the river could rise to near flood stage by Sunday.

As of 7 a.m., the Pompton River in Pompton Plains was nearly 8.9 feet high. Flood stage for the river is 16 feet.

Click here to view a page of flood-related links on the township’s Web site. Residents can also call the town’s Office of Emergency Management’s information line at 973-694-5050 or view Wayne Public Access Channel 77 for announcements and information.

Area stores were nearly cleaned out of their supplies of bottled water and C and D batteries at 6 a.m. Friday.

Often storms create in Wayne that is mostly contained near Willowbrook Mall, Mountainview Boulevard and the Old Wayne section of town. But with Irene, the threat is thought to be more widespread. Powerful winds and an already-saturated ground could translate into downed trees and power lines, potentially causing damage to homes and vehicles and power outages.

“This past spring’s flood we had a lot of rain and a lot of flooding but it was localized to the areas of the town that regularly flood,” Reardon said. “When it is a town-wide issue it eats up a lot more manpower, depending on how bit it is and where we need to go.”

The police department’s Marine Squad, which is in charge of the emergency boats and evacuation vehicles, will be on call to assist residents who need to evacuate their homes. The police will send out reverse 9-1-1 notifications as needed.

Residents are urged to make a disaster kit with batteries, water, non-perishable food and flashlights.

Mayor Chris Vergano sent a letter to state Department of Environmental Protection Commission Robert Martin Wednesday. Vergano urged Martin to help get the floodgates on the Pompton River open Wednesday to prevent water rushing out of the Pompton River downstream, causing flash floods in Wayne and the surrounding municipalities.

“Being proactive today can lesson the impact of flooding in the Passaic River Basin in the very near future,” Vergano said in the letter. The gates remain closed.