Another round of strong storms battered New York and New Jersey on Monday morning, sending floodwater across roads and leaving trees sprawled over cars, homes and rail tracks. In New Jersey, drivers were trapped by high water in Passaic County, while New York saw a crushed vehicle in Queens Village and an LIRR train strike a fallen tree in Smithtown.
In Passaic County, the rain came down hard enough to flood the river area at Goffle Brook Park in Hawthorne, according to CBS New York. Heavy rain also hit Route 17 near Hasbrouck Heights before noon, while cars again became stuck in high water along Goffle Road. In Morris County, flooded streets surrounded homes in Dover.
Passaic County Flooding Keeps Repeating
The latest flooding came after a series of recent downpours that have left parts of North Jersey with little time to dry out. The National Weather Service said a June 22-23 storm produced 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain across western Passaic, southern Orange, Rockland and northwestern Bergen counties, along with flood-related road closures and several downed trees in the New York City area. That history helps explain why another burst of heavy rain quickly turned into a roadway and drainage problem.
New York communities were also hit, with a tree falling near Cross Island Parkway and 86th Avenue in Queens Village, crushing a car, damaging a home and covering the entire road, CBS New York reported. On Long Island, an LIRR train struck a tree that had fallen across the tracks in Smithtown, damaging the engineer's compartment; firefighters said one person was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Flooded Roads And Fallen Trees Remain Hazards
In a July 27 advisory, New York City Emergency Management warned that heavy rain can quickly flood streets, underpasses and basements. The agency urged residents never to drive through floodwater, and to stay away from downed power lines and unstable trees even after the rain stops. For drivers across the region, the safest route through Monday's mess is still the one that avoids standing water entirely.
