Power Outages, Flooding Affecting County Residents

The worst may be yet to come.

Though Hurricane Irene has blown out of New Jersey, Somerset County residents are busy coping with the effects of the storm that crawled up the East Coast.

Record rains have flooded basements and downed tree limbs, both large and small, are littering yards on every block.

More seriously, thousands of county residents were without power at noon. Jersey Central Power and Light was reporting 7,731 customers without power in the county with the two hardest-hit areas being Basking Ridge with 1,843 customers without power and Warren with 1,445 customers without power. PSE&G is reporting a total of 330,000 customers statewide without power, with no breakdown available by county.

But the worst part of the storm may be the flooding in the Raritan River basin.

According to the National Weather Service, the flooding in the Raritan basin will be second only to the flooding from Hurricane Floyd in September 1999.

The flooding will be worse than Tropical Storm Doria, which was 40 years ago today.

The North Branch of the Raritan River is expected to crest early this afternoon at 18 feet at the Route 202 bridge between Bridgewater and Branchburg.

Downstream the flooding is predicted to be worse. The river is expected to crest in Manville at 24.7 feet and in Bound Brook at 40 feet. Both crests are about two feet less than the record levels during Floyd.

The Millstone River is expected to crest tonight, with a near record level of 20.8 feet at Blackwells Mills. The lower part of Millstone is already flooded.

Numerous water rescues have already been performed in Manville, in both the Lost Valley section along the Millstone River and along Dukes Parkway by the Raritan River.

The flood is the first test of the new flood control measures implemented in Bound Brook. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in flood-prone areas.

Hillsborough police are asking that residents not to call the police department for anything other than an emergency.

The Red Cross has opened shelters at Bound Brook High School, 111 West Union Ave., Bound Brook; Manville VFW, 600 Washington Ave.; and Raritan Valley Community College, 118 Lamington Road, Branchburg.  In addition, several municipalities have opened shelters, including  Somerville, Franklin, Hillsborough, Rocky Hill and South Bound Brook.

There is a travel ban, limiting transportation only to emergency vehicles, in Manville until Monday at 6 a.m.

“Our top priority is the safety of our residents,” Freeholder Director Robert Zaborowski said. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance for residents to stay off the roads unless it is absolutely necessary to leave home."