Tracking Henri: Major Parkways In Westchester County Flood As Rivers Overflow
RYE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Flooding became a major problem in Westchester County on Sunday as Henri passed Long Island Sound.
Rain started to pick up Sunday evening, resulting in flooding on several parkways parallel to rivers.
Parts of the Bronx River Parkway flooded in Mount Vernon, and it was so bad in White Plains, one vehicle got stuck with water rising up to the windows. No one was inside, and CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported it looked like they got what they could from the trunk and left.
The Bronx River Parkway was closed northbound and southbound from the Westchester County Center in White Plains to the Sprain split in Yonkers.
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The Saw Mill was closed northbound and southbound between Manville Road in Pleasantville and Route 119 in Elmsford.
There were also reports of ponding on the Hutchinson Parkway, and parts of the Taconic Parkway had to shut down. But even after water drained, large pieces of debris remained.
Watch Lisa Rozner's report
In Mamaroneck, water rose above the back bumper of a parked car and a basketball court was totally submerged.
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported, Columbus Park by the Mamaroneck River looked like it was sinking, and Jefferson Avenue on the park's perimeter was partially blocked off because of the quick-rising water.
While some residents rushed to move their cars to higher ground, the cars left behind by 8 p.m. had to stay there until the water receded.
"They closed our street, and we had to start moving our cars, and we just came back, walking five blocks that way because we had to move all four of our cars," Mamaroneck resident Maritza Villanueva said.
"By my house, it has been flooded in two areas, in two sections ... Boats came in. It got a little crazy," Mamaroneck's Sebastian Zamora said. "They were prepared to rescue anyone in case the flood was there."
LISTEN: Westchester County Executive George Latimer On Henri Damage
The county's emergency operations center has been activated and officials are urging people to stay off the roads, especially ones that are flooded.
"We've had hurricanes where we get heavy water, then we're worried about the amount of flooding that we have, particularly at high tide, that makes it impossible for that water to drain out to the Long Island Sound or, in some cases, out to the Hudson River, and then it backs up and we have flooding issues," said County Executive George Latimer. "So no matter what the direction of the storm is or what the impacts are, there will be things that we will have to deal with as a county government."
Two-person crews in Rye were cleaning out storm drains as water slowly flooded side roads and built up throughout the municipality's main roads.
Still, 287 had a steady stream of cars.
PHOTOS: Henri Impacts Tri-State Area
Early in the afternoon, curious residents came out to the Long Island Sound shore to see the waves.
"I was down here yesterday with the water. It was very roiled, very rough water, way different color, way dark color, whereas this is glossy, pearly, really calm," Rye resident Doree Leonard said. "If heavy rain comes back again, could be much more trouble."
Last year, some Westchester County residents were without power for multiple days after Tropical Storm Isaias, and they're worried that could happen again in the aftermath of Henri.
CBS2's Lisa Rozner contributed to this report.
