Communities along Passaic River still under floodwaters, with more rain on the way

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    PATERSON, New Jersey (WCBS) — Flooding continues for communities along the Passaic and Pompton rivers in New Jersey, and now the forecast is calling for another round of rain.

Chopper 2 was over Bergen Street in Paterson early Friday morning, where firefighters in a high-water vehicle evacuated two people surrounded by floodwaters.

Since Thursday, first responders have performed more than a dozen rescues, and the danger is far from over.

“We’ve got another bit of trouble coming. We’re expecting it, but there’s nothing we can really do about it,” resident Alvin Felder told CBS New York’s Christine Fan.

The Passaic River crested at 9.7 feet and is now heading down, but Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh says not for long. Officials are urging families to remain vigilant as the city braces for more rainfall.

“Here’s what’s going to compound the situation — We’re expecting an inch to maybe two inches of rain tonight into tomorrow, so that means the river is going to go back up,” Sayegh said.

The mayor said 22 roads across the city were barricaded off, and schools were canceled Friday. Families are urged to leave the area and head to a shelter site.

Julius Sanchez’s father owns A&R Used Auto Parts at the end of the block. They lost at least four cars to December’s storm, and they’re on pins and needles again.

He’s stressed, we’re all stressed,” said Sanchez. “We lifted them up the highest we could. If water got in, then water got in. We did what we could.”

On the Pompton River over in Wayne, multiple drivers had to be rescued Thursday as floodwaters took over town.

CBS New York’s Tony Sadiku found people using row boats and waders to get around.

“The same people that were impacted this time are the same folks that got impacted Christmas time and really didn’t have a holiday, and now the forecast is for rain again,” Mayor Chris Vergano told Sadiku.

Now it’s time to throw out whatever has been ruined by the flood and collect all the garbage again.

“It’s sad, because kids can’t go to school, traffic is stopped, we had Route 23 shut down, which just caused major havoc for everybody,” he said.

The mayor said the city has purchased 340 homes with $100 million in FEMA money over the last 10 years with a buyout program to move people out of harm’s way.

“We’re not in favor of elevating houses, because our fear is OK your house is up on that water, 3-o-clock in the morning you have chest pains, we still have to launch the boats to come get you. And that puts people in harm’s way, it puts you in harm’s way,” he explained. “Just because you’re up in the air, doesn’t mean you’re out of harm’s way.”

As CBS New York’s Christina Fan reported early Friday morning from Little Falls, the river remains at a major flood stage.

The floodwaters started roaring into town early Thursday, quickly taking over the streets. As families scrambled to move their possessions to higher ground, emergency vehicles broadcast warnings urging residents to evacuate.

The mayor took Gov. Phil Murphy on a tour of the area, showing him the river’s wrath and the damage it’s done in the community over the years.

The governor said combatting floods needs to be a priority — not only locally, but on a national level.

“We need big resiliency investments, whether that’s dredging rivers or redirecting currents, bigger picture things,” he said Thursday.

The mayor emphasized the importance of elevating homes to protect against any future floods. He said those who have already done so had very little damage and didn’t lose heat or hot water this storm when they returned home.

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