Paramus, N.J. residents are cleaning up after Saturday's intense storm. Here's what they experienced.
One community in Bergen County, New Jersey, was hit hard by Saturday's thunderstorms.
Sheer devastation was visible in one Paramus neighborhood, including a massive tree uprooted on Jackson Place. Dozens of other trees were spotted down across the area, with some resting on homes or landing on the roads.
No one was injured, but there was a lot of cleanup going on in the community on Sunday.
There's tremendous urgency to clean it all up as soon as possible, because several rounds of heavy rain are expected Monday, which could trigger severe flooding.
"We're asking our residents to just be patient"
Neighbors told CBS News New York the severe weather kicked in just after 8 p.m., adding they heard a loud pop before the power went out and the trees started coming down.
Paramus officials surveyed the damage Sunday afternoon. Mayor Christopher DiPiazza said his office received more than 250 calls on Saturday night. He also said he's never seen devastation quite like this.
"We're asking our residents to just be patient. Our departments are all hard at work. Our fire department, OEM are going door to door doing welfare checks for neighborhoods that are still blocked off," DiPiazza said.
The mayor said the town has set up a cooling center at a senior center on Fairview Avenue for those who don't have power.
Storm intensity reminded some of Superstorm Sandy
Residents who have lived in the community for a long time said the storm was reminiscent of Superstorm Sandy back in late October of 2012.
"I was in my living room and watching TV and, bam, I heard the noise, and automatically I knew a tree came down on my house," resident Anthony Perna said.
As for that massive tree that uprooted on Jackson Place, resident Sergio Bueno said, "When I came to the front of the house, I just said, 'Wow.' I just could not believe what I was looking at."
One neighbor said two massive trees uprooted and crashed on to his home, adding it was terrifying for his family when the rain and winds moved in.
"I went to look outside. The wind was starting to pick up and the rain is coming down hard and my little daughter checked the window and I was like, all right, this is going too hard," Mostafa Popal said. "It took 10 seconds from [when] I told her [to] come back to this side of the house. Ten seconds later, the lights went out first, then two trees came down. Big bang. One of our sunroofs has a hole now. No rain at this point."
Popal said his family won't be able to stay in their home because of the damage.
