Rain Continues, Flooding a Concern

Nelson Avenue looked like a small lake Tuesday morning, as flood waters continued to trickle onto the usually busy street.

Harrison Police have closed that street from Union Avenue to Mathews Street. Union Avenue has also been partially closed in that area after it was covered with water. More road closings are likely as rain continues to fall on the already saturated region.

"The pipes are simply not big enough to hold the amount of water that's there," said Harrison Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh, mentioning water shooting from underground pipes onto Union Avenue. "They're big, just not big enough to handle this amount."

Genesee Drive was closed briefly this afternoon when flood water was passing over the street. Sonya Merola, who lives on the street, says that her basement is under a couple inches of water after a stream overflowed into her yard.

"When it comes, it comes quickly, and when it's happening of course it's scary," said Merola. "It's just mother nature taking over, that's it."

Walsh said that she expects low-lying areas of the town to continue to flood Tuesday evening as rain continues to fall. She said that town workers are out checking drains to make sure they are not clogged.

Town Hall has received several calls from residents in the Woodlands area whose yards have become temporary streams, said Walsh, adding that the town is doing everything within it's control to deal with any flooding. 

"The flooding is dependent on so many different factors," said Walsh. "Obviously we can't control it."

The National Weather Service is predicting another quarter to half-inch of rain before nightfall on Tuesday. Even more precipitation is possible before the storm is expected to mercifully leave the area early Wednesday morning.

Several major highways and parkways in Westchester County have either completely shut down or closed lanes at some point today, making travel throughout the area very difficult. Many of those problems will likely linger into the evening commute.

For an update on traffic delays, click here.

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