Residents of flood-prone areas of N.J. following the storm anxiously
MIDDLESEX BOROUGH, N.J. - Residents of flood-ravaged areas in New Jersey are watching Wednesday's rain closely.
Water levels are elevated, and the ground's saturated. That's not a good combination - anyone living along a river is keeping a close eye on the rain.
"We are on borrowed time right now. This could be the night that that house goes in, and ultimately, what's the impact? Will my house be the next one?" resident Ken Beck said.
His home is on the edge of a sinking cliff along a creek on Heather Lane in Middlesex Borough. The house next door has been condemned. The ground is eroding.
Beck said more rain could eat away land behind his home.
"Christine, last time you were here we had a conversation on the other side of the caution tape. Another eight or ten feet of property is gone. It's devastating. Look at the flow of the water, it's coming directly at my property," Beck said.
He's been asking the New Jersey DEP and the federal government for help, he said, but because his property doesn't meet certain guidelines. The state can't buy him out under the Blue Acres program.
"You gotta hope I don't lose any more land. There's not much more left. I have got 10 feet to the foundation. Every storm, how much more can I afford? I need help," Beck said.
"Eventually we are going to lose this whole neighborhood," former Mayor John Madden said.
"Once there is flooding, it rises and it's really scary," Manville resident Brianna Lohr.
Lohr is carefully watching the Millstone River. The January floods sent sewerage into her finished basement. She's got a sump pump on standby.
"Very worried. I keep refreshing the government website to see how deep the water is behind us," Lohr said.
Empty lots and elevated homes dot her neighborhood.
"We are looking into different resources, such as Blue Acres. We're even looking into, possibly, an investor purchasing this house, putting the house on the market soon. We just want to get out of here," Lohr said.
Leanna Jones, a Manville storm survivor who was working with the New Jersey Organizing Project, said she and other residents still haven't fully recovered from Hurricane Ida.
"Whenever there is a large amount of rain forecasted, it creates a huge amount of anxiety," Jones said.
Jones said government needs to do more.
"We still have not improved any of the processes that help people get home and get recovered from storms," Jones said.
