Maplewood: Hurricane Laura May Cause Flash Floods in NJ Saturday

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The National Hurricane Center is predicting that after Tropical Storm Laura spins over the central United States in the next two days, it could drench New Jersey and surrounding states Saturday, with the potential for flash floods.

Accuweather was predicting on Thursday that the main rainfall in New Jersey would occur Saturday afternoon.

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Here are links to two National Hurricane Center pages, one showing potential flash flooding from Laura and a page to track the storm. Check back for updates.

The storm first made landfall as a category 4 hurricane on the Louisiana coast on Thursday morning. It was later downgraded to tropical storm status.

During Tropical Storm Isaias on Aug. 4, Maplewood suffered from downed trees and wires. However, Laura was not expected, as of Friday, to still be at tropical storm strength upon reaching New Jersey.

As anything can change, click the links for up-to-date Tropical Storm Laura information.

Review storm preparation tips here: https://nj.pseg.com/safetyandreliability/stormsafety.

Storm preparation and help

Stay connected with PSE&G

If you compile a list of emergency phone numbers; include PSE&G Customer Service 1-800-436-PSEG. You can report an outage by texting "OUT" to 4PSEG (47734).

For JCP&L Customers

Report your outage by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877), clicking the "Report Outage" link on www.firstenergycorp.com, or by texting out to 544487.

Stay away from downed wires

Downed wires should always be considered "live." Stay at least 30 feet away from downed wires. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything it might be in contact with. If a wire falls on or near your car, stay inside the car, call 911, and do not get out until PSE&G de-energizes the line. If you MUST get out of the vehicle because it is on fire, jump as far as possible away from the vehicle, with both feet landing on the ground at the same time.

Helpful Links:

https://www.essexsheriff.com/oem/http://www.ready.nj.gov/

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