Blizzard Juno Flooding: Who Is Vulnerable And How To Prepare As Northeast Coastal Areas Hit With Icy Floods

A winter blizzard hounding the Northeast caused significant flooding in coastal areas along Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey Tuesday. Strong winds and gusts up to 55 mph pushed water up from the Atlantic and the worst flooding was expected to come as high tide hit Tuesday afternoon, according to Weather.com.

In New York, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Long Island through Tuesday evening, according to News 12 Long Island. Dive and rescue teams were on standby in New Jersey. Scituate, Massachusetts saw some of the worst flooding in the region. Photos on social media showed cars drowning in icy water. Communities on Cape Cod, including Sandwich and Chatham, experienced flooding up to four feet above average high tide. Nantucket also experienced flooding and residents there reported the majority of the 7,000 power outages in Massachusetts. The federal government's coastal analysis and flood maps can be found here.

There was also a significant risk to residents near rivers that freeze. Ice jams are particularly dangerous because they can get stuck on man-made and natural barriers downriver and further exacerbating flooding. Another concern was what will happen when the multiple feet of snow and ice leftover from the storm being called Juno start to melt, overloading municipal drainage systems.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said the risk of power outages was less than what was expected earlier this week as the storm rolled its way toward the region from the upper Midwest, according to the Associated Press. Martha's Vineyard was also vulnerable to flooding, along with most areas within 10-15 miles of the coast from Cape Cod up through mid-Maine.

The Federal Flood Insurance Program suggests that residents in vulnerable areas have an emergency kit ready, evacuation routes mapped and important documents in a safe place. It's a good idea to take photographs of possessions for insurance purposes. Residents in flooding areas were asked to stay inside and avoid any travel.