Flood Warning for New Jersey, Authorities Closes School and Residents Evacuate

A town in North Jersey is being ordered to evacuate its people, and forecasters have warned of significant flooding overnight near several rivers in New Jersey.

Little Falls, a small community in Passaic County next to the Passaic River, has been devastated by flooding. As a result, local officials have advised residents to leave their homes and park their cars in municipal lots or other public areas that won’t flood. Residents may now seek emergency refuge at the town’s Civic Center.

Tuesday, the whole school year at the neighboring Paterson Public School District will be closed, the district announced on Monday night. In addition, several additional districts in the impacted counties declared Tuesday’s closures and postponed openings.

Additionally, until Tuesday afternoon, the organization issued a warning for the Raritan River. According to the alert, there will probably be significant flooding in the counties of Middlesex, Somerset, and Hunterdon, with the worst flooding predicted in the Somerset County district of Manville.

The storm that caused the floods was a coastal one that moved over the Garden State on Sunday night and into Monday. By Monday morning, around 50,000 homes and businesses were without power due to the storm, which dumped up to 5 inches of rain and 50 mph gusts.