Edgewater, NJ (WABC) -- Cities in the Sanshu region are beginning to assess damage from winter storms that brought heavy rains and record snowfall.
Some Edgewater residents are trying to free their frozen cars from the parking lot.
"This is pretty devastating," said resident Naomi Kroon. "I wanted to salvage something in the car. There is nothing that can be salvaged."
This was the first time Kroon and her son were able to drive the 2015 Mazda 6 in four days.
The car was in a parking lot on River Road, which Kroon considered relatively safe as flood waters rose.
However, as the rain continued, the Hudson River rose steadily until it eventually flowed over the seawall and into the parking lot.
"I had no idea what it would look like," Kroon said. "I didn't expect it to damage so much. Yes, wishful thinking, hoping we'd get rid of it, probably wanted to start it."
Sheets of ice cover the front seats of Kroon's car, with the emergency brake sticking out of the ice in the center console.
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“There are trees and there is debris,” said Kroon. "It looks like the window wasn't down. The water must have shorted the engine. The window rolled and all the water got in."
Eight cars and one trailer cab remain trapped in the parking lot.
Vehicles were initially surrounded by frozen floodwaters when temperatures dropped on Friday.
One witness said he saw people inside the jeep trying to free it from the ice.
Eyewitness News spoke to the parking lot owner.
He said he had water pumps in case of possible flooding, but in one instance there was too much water.
"We've been here for a few days now, and it's not the worst," said Edgewater resident Ryan Oliveria.
Residents of the area are trying to make the most of the frozen parking lot with their families using it as an ice skating rink.
The rest of the car owners will have to wait until the ice melts to find out how much damage has been done.
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