Newark Officials are reporting that the Newark Fire Division made 30 rescues of people trapped in street floodings throughout the city during yesterday’s rush hour.
“The water came up quickly in some cases,” Ambrose said. “In others, people drove into deep water on flooded streets and got stuck.
No matter how many times you tell people not to do it, there’s always somebody who thinks they can make it through”, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony’s Ambrose
The first rescue came at 8 p.m. when the city’s Urban Water Rescue Team responded to a call of people trapped at the foot of the Wilson Avenue Bridge in the Ironbound. Four people were rescued.
Minutes later, a displaced manhole cover sent water gushing onto the intersection of McCarter Highway and Clay Street, stalling out five cars. Six people were helped to dry ground as the water rose.
The Urban Rescue Team checked the flood-prone area of Frelinghuysen Avenues and Noble Street in the South Ward at 8:10 p.m. and rescued four people trapped in several cars.
A few blocks away, at Frelinghuysen and Toller Place two more people were stalled in floodwaters and were taken out by firefighters. At the same time, four people were removed by a car submerged car on Avenue P.
Waters rose at Paris and Magazine in the east part of the Ironbound section, where at 9 p.m. two people were removed from an inundated car.
In the vicinity of Chestnut and Hermon Streets near Route 21, also in the Ironbound firefighters rescued three people from one car and three others from other cars in floodwaters.
The last victim was also rescued in the Ironbound at Foundry and Ferry Streets.