Roads Remain Flooded, Hundreds Evacuate In Wayne And Little Falls

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Record-breaking water levels from the recent strong rainstorm caused hundreds of people to evacuate their homes in Passaic County on Tuesday night, as the Passaic River rose above major flood stage.

A flood warning is still in effect until further notice for some residents in Passaic, Morris, and Essex counties, and multiple roads remain impassable due to the high waters. Black ice developed in some spots overnight, as well, causing a multiple-vehicle crash in Paterson according to NorthJersey.com.

Wayne Township is still under a state of emergency as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, as flooding remains from both the Passaic and Pompton Rivers. The township urged residents in flood-prone areas to evacuate, before more streets became impassable.

Officers drove down Ryerson Avenue on Wednesday to retrieve peoples' stranded pets, according to a News12 report.

Latest traffic updates

Wayne Police said there are still a number of road closures in the Mountain View area of town, and by Willowbrook Mall, on Wednesday. This includes Meadow Road, Mountainview Boulevard from Erie Avenue into Lincoln Park, Willowbrook Road, Riverlawn Drive, and part of Fairfield Road.

All lanes of U.S. 46 eastbound are still closed as of 11 a.m. Wednesday west of the Willowbrook Mall exit (at the border with Fairfield), according to the NJ Department of Transportation. Willowbrook Mall is open, but surrounding roads are still submerged; black ice was also a concern in the early morning hours, said police.

Route 20 is still closed in both directions at County Road 651 in Paterson due to flooding, as well.

Route 23 has reopened in both directions going through Pequannock Township.

For current closures on Wayne Township roads, click here to view a map. Highway and state route closures are also posted on 511nj.org.

River gauge levels and other local impacts

The Passaic River reached recorded levels of 10.29 feet at Little Falls on Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Minor flood stage is 7 feet and major flood stage is 9 feet at this monitoring station.

And in Signac, just south of Wayne Township, the river was at 12.32 feet — a historical high, according to NWS data. The highest previous recorded level for this monitoring station was 11.45 feet on Sept. 3, 2o21.

The Pompton River at Pompton Plains was more than two feet above major flood stage on Monday and Tuesday, but has dropped below minor flood levels as of Wednesday.

The water is predicted to recede slowly through the end of the week, forecasters said, but river levels could still be above minor flood stage on Saturday.

Hundreds of residents in Little Falls were also asked to evacuate before midnight on Tuesday night. First responders went door-to-door to help dozens of people as the waters continued rising, reported CBS New York. One family, who had just moved into their Main Street home, got on one of the rafts with their 2-year-old son.

Police and firefighters determined it was too dangerous to continue rescues at one point, and advised residents still in their homes to hunker down until Wednesday morning, the report said.

The Little Falls School District had a delayed opening on Wednesday, and Paterson Public Schools remain closed.