Power Out, Floods, River Crest in Morris Plains

While the worst of Hurricane Irene may be behind us as of Sunday afternoon, the after-effects are still being felt in Morris Plains.

Police Chief Scott Thompson said multiple problems spots remain as a result of the storm. "We have some power outages, we have some flooding. Route 53 is flooded at the southern end. Also Johnson Road. Route 10 and Malapardis Road flooded, but they're cleared.

"Right now we have an ongoing situation with some houses flooding on Valley Stream Circle. The water is from the Watnong."

A Patch reporter is on the scene at Valley Stream Circle and details will be available later.

According to Morris Plains’ Councilman Joe Cecala, who is in charge of public safety, multiple basements have been pumped-out and fallen trees must be cleared. The good news, though, is that the underpass near the train station is clear of water, due in large part to the fact that NJ Transit put in much bigger pumps about ten years ago. 

However, according to Chief Thompson, there was a "substantial flood behind 400 American Way," high enough that diesel fuel from vehicles on the property was spilled. Hazmat crews dealt with that situation, he said.

Both Cecala said Thompson said that additional winds are predicted for Sunday, causing some concern.

"Overall, we did okay," Thompson said. "There were no injuries."