As Tropical Storm Debby continues to make its way across the region, Morris County’s Office of Emergency Management is keeping a close eye on the potential for flooding and heavy winds that can bring down trees and power lines.

“The word ‘tornado’ is being talked about,” said Jeffrey Paul, Morris County OEM director. “I’m not saying we’re certainly going to see it. I hope we miss it. But it is in our forecast data as a potential possibility.”

The OEM is planning for the worst and hoping for the best for the course of the next 24-36 hours.

“We do expect some river flooding. We do anticipate some roadway closures,” said Paul.

One of the areas prone to flooding includes Denville, with its close proximity to the Rockaway River. Paul strongly suggests that people plan their travel around the storm and completely avoid driving through flooded streets.

“People don’t know what they’re driving into. We are highly advising the public to pay attention to the roadways and not drive into water because it may be tangled with lines and electrical lines that are energizing that water. It obviously could be deadly,” said Paul.

Heavy rainfall has created very saturated parts of Morris County, potentially resulting in a tree falling overnight at an apartment complex in Parsippany. Erick Macareno with All Season Maintenance was among the crews working to remove the tree off of the roof of the clubhouse.

“It looked like a tornado just happened,” said Macareno. “We came, cleaned it up and got it out of there.”

Meantime, some residents are stocking up with items they need from the grocery store and hoping for the best.

“I have grandkids going back to college for dinner tomorrow night. So that’ll be fun,” said Annie Long.

The OEM is asking people to only call 911 in the case of an emergency, be mindful of conditions before going out in them and adjust travel times according to the storm.