Hello Again: Storms Are Back

[Editor's note: Story last updated 9:00 p.m. Tuesday night.]

As if Hurricane Irene wasn't enough, the village is again being shaken with heavy rains that could disrupt ongoing cleaning efforts.

Mayor Keith Killion said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon that the primary concern is not Village Hall, which took a . Flood waters were too much to be held back by storm barricades, eventually filling the first floor of the main municipal building in Ridgewood.

Killion said that the vast majority of items that could be damaged, like sheet rock and other materials, have already been removed as part of the initial cleanup that began over a week ago. "There's really not much that another heavy rain can do [to Village Hall]," he said.

The council is expected on Wednesday at its council meeting to discuss cleanup costs–preliminarily , as well future options for the first floor of Village Hall.

"I'm really more concerned with the residents," the mayor added of the rains from the early part of this week.

Residents' basements could flood and sewage systems could back up, he said, which would likely prove to be a strain on homeowners' recovery efforts.

Should rain continue to worsen, Killion said the storm water barricades will be placed at Village Hall.

There could also be other reminders of Irene, as some West Siders now know.

A large tree on West Ridgewood Avenue near Heights Road toppled, slashing multiple wires and a street light around 11:00 a.m. Power is currently out as a result of the downed tree in the area, though PSE&G is on scene working to restore service. West Ridgewood Avenue from South Monroe Street west remains closed to traffic as of 9:00 p.m.

The National Weather Service's forecast predicts up to an inch of rain to fall before Wednesday morning. Rain will continue unabated 'til Friday, forecasters say. The village, like the rest of Northwest Bergen County, is currently under a flash flood warning and a flood advisory.