SECAUCUS — Secaucus residents who live along the Hackensack River and Mill Creek have a lot of cleaning up to do. Hurricane Irene caused severe flooding, inundating basements with over four feet of water. Millridge Road became a river onto itself at high tide. Residents were rescued by boat early Sunday morning.
“Everything is floating,” said Zilpa Rizzo, resident of eight years who lives next to the Mill Creek Marsh, which borders the Hackensack River. Rizzo and her family were one of the families rescued by boat and taken to a relative’s house. “This is the worst we’ve seen. A total loss in the basement,” she added.
Mayor Micheal Gonnelli’s home also experienced severe flooding and damage with waters reaching his first floor.
“This is a first for me. I’ve been here since 1993,” said Mayor Gonnelli.
He was up at 1 a.m. Sunday at the same time the electricity went out throughout Secaucus, working with the energy company and the town’s Office of Emergency Management. He said one house completely shifted from the flooding waters.
Water surrounded cars in the middle of Farm Road and Secaucus Road was closed due to massive flooding. Meadowlands Parkway was also closed off due to flooding. The Meadowlands Hospital had a mobile triage unit at one of the shelters and brought a few patients in on a SWAT vehicle. Electricity went out but the hospital had back up generators.
10th Street at Acorn also experienced flooding and Harmon Cove residents went without power for an extended period of time beyond the rest of Secaucus that saw power go back on around noon on Sunday.
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