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Possible levee break in New Jersey floods three towns

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1 of 7. Ray Cilli and his dog Woubie are rescued from flood waters brought on by Hurricane Sandy in Little Ferry, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. Millions of people across the eastern United States awoke on Tuesday to scenes of destruction wrought by monster storm Sandy, which knocked out power to huge swathes of the nation's most densely populated region, swamped New York's subway system and submerged streets in Manhattan's financial district.

Credit: Reuters/Adam Hunger

By Daniel Bases and Edward Krudy

NEW YORK | Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:35am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A possible levee breach in northern New Jersey on Tuesday, flooded three towns with 4 to 5 feet of water in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, prompting the evacuation of hundreds from their homes.

The towns of Moonachie, Little Ferry and Carlstadt were underwater after the swollen Hackensack River broke its banks, affecting around 2,000 residents, said Jeanne Baratta, chief of the Bergen County Executive.

Baratta, who was on the scene with emergency personnel, said there was the possibility that the river overflowed its banks rather than broke a levee while a New Jersey State Police spokesman described it as a levee break in the borough of Moonachie.

There were no immediate reports of any fatalities and rescue workers took approximately 200 residents out of the danger zone while some others left on their accord.

"They are wet and they are cold and they have lost their homes and their property. It is very sad," Baratta said.

"We are in rescue mode," she said, adding that the three towns had been "devastated" by the flood waters.

Baratta described a scene of rescue teams using boats and trucks to move residents to safety at a nearby school in Teterboro, which also is home to a regional airport heavily used by corporate jets and smaller aircraft.

The break came hours after Sandy, which dropped below hurricane status just before it hit the U.S. East Coast on Monday.

(Reporting By Daniel Bases and Edward Krudy; Editing by Bill Trott)
U.S.
Natural Disasters
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Comments (2)
OutfieldDan wrote:
The coverage of this storm is blown out of proportion. Consider Hurricane Katrina that killed alomost 2,000. Consider Camille (1969) that killed about 200. Consider Hurricane Ike that also killed about 200 (2008). Ike was a cat 2. Catrina and Camille were both cat 5. Sandy was cat 1 and maybe two dozen people died. I’m sorry about the deaths, but I’m tired of all the hype: Frankenstorm?

Oct 30, 2012 9:34am EDT  --  Report as abuse
peaceisgreat wrote:
Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. Sandy made landfall on the East Coast in New Jersey. It affected a much more densely populated area (including New York City) that likely was less prepared for hurricanes than Florida or Louisiana. Some of the infrastructure there is also pretty old – some parts of the New York Metro is more than 100 years old. While (thankfully) weaker than Katrina, the massive size of Sandy, which at one point the wind field spanned more than 1,000 nmi, the largest in the Atlantic on record, means that the damages that it caused will likely be not less than significant.

Oct 30, 2012 10:19am EDT  --  Report as abuse
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