Flooding fills buildings, strands drivers in Penns Grove, NJ
PENNS GROVE, N.J. (CBS) – Tuesday night's deluge caused the Delaware River to overrun its banks, pushing water into the low-lying areas of Penns Grove in Salem County, New Jersey.
Suited and booted in fisherman waders just to leave home for a grocery run, Steve Dennis lives near the Delaware River in Penns Grove.
Wednesday his home on State Street looked like an island surrounded by water because of heavy rain the night before.
"The wind was blowing very hard," Dennis said. "Branches were flying off of trees, and one of the branches fell across a power line. Because the power went out, the pump couldn't take the water and pump it to the river and the river was flooding over the banks anyway."
Thankfully, Dennis said, he raised his foundation five feet off the ground in 1989 hoping to protect his house from the regular threat of flooding.
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"It happens every other year or so," Dennis said.
But at a nearby church, Pastor Eric Zeidler was assessing 2-3 feet of water inside.
"It's sort of like a sink right here," Zeidler said. "And all the water from the area dumps right here. There's nothing we can do. It's all because of the pump."
Still, the pastor is planning to gather with his congregation this weekend.
"I already talked to a couple of people and they said you know what, we'll just bring our mops, and we'll have service on Sunday," he said.
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"Road flooded ahead" signs warned drivers that the safest and smartest bet would be to turn around, or risk getting stuck and even needing rescue.
"It happens every time," Dennis said. "But the borough needs to do more to address the situation with maintaining the pumps."
The borough said it is waiting for Atlantic City Electric to restore power before it can get the pump back up and running.