New Jersey residents near Saddle River under flood watch
SADDLE BROOK, N.J. (PIX11) -- New Jersey residents are dealing with extreme weather as heavy rain is expected to cause flooding along several rivers Wednesday.
Hellah Sidibe did not let the storm dampen his daily routine of running through Saddle River County Park, although he is prepared for the extreme weather as Bergen County residents deal with strong wind gusts.
"Right before I left, one of the chairs in front of the house took off,” Sidibe said. “So yeah, you got to put stuff -- we put some weights on top of the chairs and things to make sure it doesn't go hit anyone's car."
Although the Saddle River has yet to breach, residents are on high alert as the Town of Saddle Brook’s Office of Emergency Management issued a flood watch until Thursday morning. Sidibe is no stranger to the destruction caused by the Saddle River which turns into a torrential flood zone during periods of heavy rainfall -- impacting nearby townships.
"Most of the back of my neighborhood that I live in, in Rochelle Park, I've seen as bad as knee high in the past which is really awful because you're trying to have a normal life but also every time it rains, you're probably panicking," said Sidibe.
As flooding in the area is an ongoing issue, Saddle Brook Mayor Robert White and Congressman Bill Pascrell announced a $1 million grant Wednesday for an emergency generator to boost the town's resilience efforts. The generator will power the town's municipal complex where residents who need to evacuate their homes during storms will seek shelter. The complex will also protect first responders in emergencies.
"If there is an emergency where they need to stay overnight at the building because there's a flood and we know it, sometimes they'll standby at the building,” said Mayor White. “We'll have personnel here all night and ready to go."
Shailesh Shah is a Saddle Brook resident who said his home experiences power outages, at times, from heavy winds. He now finds solace knowing that refuge awaits in his time of need.
"That gives us good assurance that ok, God forbid if you have no other place to go, at least you can come right here to the municipal building and stay there,” Shah said.
Township officials posted weather alerts on their Facebook page warning anyone living in areas prone to flooding to be prepared to act. The flood watch impacting several counties in New Jersey is in effect until Thursday at 1 a.m.