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Gov. Phil Murphy declared a State of Emergency in the late afternoon, as rain continued falling, leaving drivers trapped in flood waters across the state.
Dunderhook Road at Paramus Road in Paramus remained closed due to flooding, leading the borough's Office of Emergency Management to urge an evacuation of the area late Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a crew used a backhoe and a long stick to try and clear branches, leaves and other debris from a Saddle River tributary that runs beneath the road.
A driver and passenger in a partially submerged SUV were rescued in Hawthorne.
Wyckoff firefighters using a Bergen County Office of Emergency management high-water rescue vehicle took the pair to waiting ambulances so they could be checked out.
The vehicle remained behind a building on Wagaraw Road until the waters receded and it could be towed.
Stunning video shows a firefighter carrying a driver on his back in Fairfield (Essex County), after his Jeep became trapped in a body of water, in a parking lot on Passaic Avenue.
As of 7:30 p.m., the following roads were closed to flooding:
- Route 71 in Asbury Park near Main Street, closed in both directions.
- Route 35 near Wyckoff Road in Eatontown, all lanes closed
- Route 46 westbound ramp to Main Street in Lodi, all lanes closed
AccuWeather said Friday's rain was expected to be the heaviest since Tropical Rainstorm Ida. The Tri-State area was facing the greatest risk of flash-flooding in the region, the outlet says.
ALSO SEE: These New Jersey Towns Got The Most Rain Today: NWS
The following roads were closed as of 10 a.m.
- GWB upper level east, Exit 1B
- Holland Tunnel, south tunnel eastbound from Jersey City to NY, all lanes blocked
- Route 440 southbound ramp to Route 9/Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge, all lanes closed.
- Garden State Parkway south, north of Exit 171 in Woodcliff Lake
- NJ Turnpike East/Hudson County Extension, westbound exit ramp Interchange 14C to Grand Street in Jersey City, all lanes closed.
- Route 208 south exit ramp to Russell Avenue in Wyckoff.
- Elberon Train Station in Long Branch, flooding under bridge (watch the TikTok from JerseyFoodWarriors).
- Wagaraw Road in Hawthorne
- Rescue made on Kuhl Road near 202 in Raritan Township
In Hoboken, firefighters rescued a woman who was pinned in her vehicle in three feet of water.
The vehicle's electrical system short-circuited, pushing her seat into the steering wheel, responders at the scene said. Fortunately, she wasn't injured, they said.
Up to four inches of rain is expected through Saturday night, Sept. 30. Drivers are being urged to avoid areas of the street that are flooded because it's impossible to know how deep the water is, and how fast it's moving, AccuWeather says.
Northern New Jersey and its coastline was expected to get the heaviest rain and see the worst impacts.
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