Before a state of emergency was called, New Providence Emergency Services prepared for flash flooding by shutting down the major roads at 5:30 p.m. including South Street, Springfield Avenue, Central Avenue and Mountain Avenue, according to Chief of Police Daniel Henn.
As the rain began pouring down, the number of calls began increasing. The New Providence emergency services received calls and reports from the Emergency Services Regional Dispatch Center in Westfield, according to Henn. In 2021, Union County expanded its Regional Dispatch Center in Westfield to allow โmore towns the option to use its services for fire, EMS, mutual aid and first responders,” according to TAPinto Westfield.
In roughly two hours, around 1200 emergency calls were made around Union County. New Providence was only a small percentage of the calls in the vicinity, Henn said. New Providence Emergency Services received 13 reports of vehicles trapped in floodwaters. Of those 13 vehicles, seven people required swift water rescues from their cars.
In one scenario, a commuter traveling near Radcliffe Drive thought the road looked passable, but during flash floods, โwater height is an optical illusion,โ Henn said. When the commuter could not move forward due to the deep water, the vehicle began being moved by the current of the water flowing in the street and was swept into the creek, according to Henn. When the vehicle began to flow downriver, the emergency services were notified of the dilemma and the swift water team took action to get Radcliffe Drive.
โFirefighter Dan Nelson and Firefighter Billy Vignali were able to locate the woman probably about 100 feet away from the Mee Lane, entered the water and were able to secure her back on to secure footing,โ Henn said. โThose firefighters took extraordinary measures to get out there and make sure that that woman didn’t lose her life that day.โ
These rescues were effective because of hazard mitigation planning, according to Henn. These plans identify state and local natural disaster risks and vulnerabilities that are common in the area, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. After identifying these risks, long-term strategies are developed to protect people and property while also finding ways to break the cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction.
New Providence Emergency services take into consideration “different areas of hazards [and] identifying those hierarchies. Water is always a big issue for us just based upon our proximity of the Passaic River and the topography of New Providence.โ Though emergency personnel familiarize themselves with the town’s hazard mitigation plan, โexperience is the greatest tool that we have because we can anticipate flooding as it’s going to come,โ Henn said.
