Updated: Oradell Reservoir Was Expected to Overflow at Midnight

Updated at 6:50 p.m. Sunday.

The Oradell Reservoir is expected to overflow at midnight, which could lead to more flooding south of the area, Bergen County officials have said.

Bergen County Emergency Management Coordinator Lt. Dwane Razzetti updated local officials on the storm in a conference call late this afternoon. State Senator Loretta Weinberg, who was on the call, has asked for more information on the outage and any potential evacuations.

The exact cause was unclear, but Bergen County Chief of Staff Jeanne Baratta said utility representatives would be calling Weinberg with an update.

Flooded substations and downed trees have been blamed for most of the county's power outages. A substation in New Milford was knocked offline, leading to outages in towns including Teaneck, Razzetti said.

"When it gets turned on a lot of people will be restored, but it's not an easy turn on," he said of the substation. The Hillsdale substation was also flooded, impacting a large swath of the county.

PSE&G spokeswoman Karen A. Johnson told Patch the utility could not provide "town by town info," during a large statewide issue.

The Hackensack River at New Milford is now at more than five feet above flood stage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The river was measured at 11.73 feet by the USGS at 6:30 p.m.

Borough officials had urged a voluntary evacuation of all residents who lived in low-lying flood prone areas of the borough by 8 a.m. Sunday.

NMPD Chief Frank Papapietro said 21 families had evacuated as of Sunday morning. Many more have been evacuated throughout the day Sunday by emergency personnel using boats and water rescue tools.

The river is expected to rise higher through Sunday night.

Residents of Columbia, Harvard, Holland, Lenox, Pine, Washington, Madison and more were significantly impacted by the rising waters.

One resident on Lenox reported having to open first floor windows to let flood waters in before the water pressure built any greater. Neighbors were seen wading into affected areas to check on those who remained behind. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that the river had already reached 10 feet. Stay tuned for updates on this breaking news.