Rescued Resident: 'We Never Thought the Water Would Rise That High'

For years, during rain storms, Brian and Cassandra Stanley have been lucky.

"Normally, when the water rises like that, it usually comes up at the corner of Dukes and [Route] 206 and Dukes and Taylor [Avenue]," said Brian Stanley, of Dukes Parkway East. "We are in the middle, but we are safe."

"This time, it came up the driveway, and into the garage and into the sunporch and family room."

The 14-year residents have only lived on Dukes Parkway East for about five years, and have never had their house flood until Hurricane Irene. It resulted in the township's fire departments and rescue squads having to perform a water rescue on Sunday.

"It's a little embarrassing," Cassandra Stanley said as she and her husband attempted to find satellite photographs of their house and the water. "I've never really been in a situation, but what can you do?

"We didn't expect the water to rise that high and we had to be rescued by boat."

Their house is directly across the street from the Raritan River, but they've always been the high point, they said. 

"At first, we thought it would never rise that high, but then the rain stopped and it just kept rising," Cassandra Stanley said.

"If it is going up Taylor, at this point, I'm sure the first floor is under water," Brian Stanley said.

Their only thoughts as the water crept up the driveway, up closer to cars—danger, danger, danger. They moved the cars, called the police. They called the rescue extremely professional, thanking the fire department and rescue crews for their response time and courtesy.

In addition, they noted the attention to safety, since the crews did a sweep of their block for anyone else who wanted to be transported away from the flooding.

Now, they're in the township's emergency shelter in the municipal building, waiting for news about their house and their block.

"They're very, very caring here," Cassandra Stanley said. "It's clean and there is plenty of food. We really appreciate it, but we just feel really down right now."

Though they're grateful for the rescue, the thoughts of lost family photos, their daughter's diploma, track medals and photos and the damages to their home are devastating.

"The water rose so high that we never thought it would rise as high as it did," Cassandra Stanley said. "We have so much memorabilia there."

But the damages will be seen once the river recedes.

"I don't know where we will go from here once the water does recede," Cassandra Stanley said. "I guess we'll go and hope for the best."