PATERSON, N.J. (PIX11) -- Thousands of people in a handful of North Jersey towns remain out of their homes after having to evacuate due to dangerously high floodwaters.

Thousands more are stranded after the torrential rains that the region got on Sunday, and Monday resulted in the Passaic and Pompton Rivers and many tributaries overflowing their banks. 

It's caused a lot of anxiety for families days before Christmas. Some residents have asked what the state is doing to ensure there's enough help, and on Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's office said that it's making resources available.

On Wednesday night, two-and-a-half days after the rainfall stopped, Route 46 East at the Fairfield/Wayne border remained closed, and I-80 East -- an interstate highway -- had lanes closed at Exit 47B due to floodwaters on the roadway. 

Problems with high water were also why Paterson Public Schools announced Wednesday evening that New Jersey's third-largest city schools will remain closed until Jan. 2. 

That means that a fifth grader, Jayla Garcia-Arthur, will be home for even longer with her mother, Brittany Arthur.

On Wednesday, the two took a break from a paper boat-making activity at their home on a flooded street to look at the water level.  

"It wasn't to our step before, and it seems to have grown a lot," the mother said. "Looks like it's getting worse."

The National Weather Service showed the Passaic River to have crested around 5:45 Wednesday morning, but it was forecasted to remain in major flood stage until Thursday evening. 

It resulted in some evacuations in Paterson, but Arthur said that as long as she and her family had electricity in the house, they'd planned to stay put. 

The floodwaters spread across North Jersey and destroyed or damaged Chatham, Little Falls, Lodi, Millington, Paterson, and Wayne homes.

In Wayne, at Finn's Mobile Home Park, residents who hadn't evacuated, either voluntarily or by police, made the most of it. 

"I've been carried out in waders because we have to go get stuff," said Anna Laureano.

Her boyfriend, Anthony Ford, carried her to his SUV while he was outfitted with hip waders to withstand the deep waters. His vehicle was parked on slightly higher ground, where it remained dry. 

Laureano said that she was well aware that the flooding was widespread. She said that her father was staying at a nearby hotel so that he could go to work without having to drive through all of the high water in the region and that she sees nothing but water everywhere she goes. 

"The ways for us to get to work," she said, "it's all closed in. Everything is closed in."

Christmas is less than a week away. Many people who spoke with PIX11 News said that they would welcome being able to work to have more money to pay for gifts. However, as one Wayne resident, Mike Coviello, said, many people are stranded. 

"I haven't been to work since Monday, actually," he said. "I'm not wading through this. The water's disgusting."

For its part, Murphy's office said that the state's chief executive is looking out for the affected communities. 

“We are working around the clock to help residents and businesses impacted by the storm earlier this week," said Jennifer Sciortino, Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications in the governor's office, in a statement.  

"Our Emergency Operations Center remains open and the Governor is receiving continual updates as State Police actively assess damage," the statement continued. "The Governor has also spoken to numerous mayors and county officials in some of our hardest-hit areas. To date, four counties have requested state assistance.”

At its current rate of decline, the Passaic is not on course to recede into its banks until early next week.