New Jersey flash flood blamed for at least 2 deaths as Gov. Phil Murphy says state was "crushed" by storms
New Jersey remains under a state of emergency Tuesday after flash flooding devastated many communities Monday night, especially in Union and Somerset counties.
Gov. Phil Murphy toured some of the damage Tuesday morning in Berkeley Heights.
"Last night, we got crushed," he said.
Murphy spoke about two deaths in the city of Plainfield and about a home explosion in the borough of North Plainfield.
"We're seeing more of this, more frequent and more intensity," he said. "Six inches of rain in under two and a half hours, in two waves -- one wave, knocked a lot of these communities a little bit off kilter; the second one just came in for the kill. So we're assessing around all these communities and counties."
The governor said he was in touch with the White House, and he warned more unsettled weather may be on the way.
"We're in one of these patterns right now, hot and humid, late afternoon-early evening thunderstorms," he said. "It doesn't feel, as I stand here now, as though tonight, tomorrow, Thursday will be at the same level of intensity that we saw last night, but you never say never."
Berkeley Heights Mayor Angie Devanney joined Murphy for the briefing and said that she experienced some flooding in her garage.
"I've seen water gushing out of the roadways, I've never experienced that, almost like a geyser, large boulders that have rolled down Mountain Avenue," she said.
N.J. flash flood blamed for at least 2 deaths in Plainfield
Police in Plainfield confirmed two people were killed when a vehicle was swept into Cedar Brook during the storm.
Authorities say two women in their 60s, identified as Lubia Estevez and Forest Whitlock, were traveling along Stelle Avenue when they made a turn, ended up in a ditch and were ultimately pulled into the fast-moving waters under the bridge.
"They were in a submerged automobile, and their remains were extracted at some point overnight or first thing this morning," Murphy said.
Earlier this month, two other people in the city were killed when a fast-moving storm whipped through. That system also killed a woman in North Plainfield.
"All of Plainfield grieves this latest loss," Plainfield Mayor Adrian O'Mapp said in a statement Tuesday. "To lose four residents in such a short span of time is unimaginable. We mourn with the families, and we remain committed to doing all we can to strengthen our emergency response systems and protect residents from future harms."
Hundreds of homes in Plainfield and North Plainfield were damaged by the torrential rains.
Emanuel Arriaza tossed out wet shoes as he sifted through his family home of 20 years and salvaged what he could after more than 1 foot of water inundated the first floor.
"We're homeless now. Like we don't have a home anymore. We don't have somewhere to stay," he said.
This is the second time his family home flooded in four years; he says in 2021, Hurricane Ida caused $80,000 in water damage.
"Again we have to deal with finding somewhere to live, waiting on the insurance money, finding all new furniture, clothing, beds, things like that ... It's a crisis to us," he said.
Off Somerset Street in North Plainfield, Heidy Ayala, one of the owners of Glow'n Beauty Bar, says 3 feet of water ruined the business she spent the last three years building.
"Everything is garbage, nothing can be saved," she said. "This is my life. This is my second home. This is everything, and it's all gone now."
House explodes during storm in North Plainfield
It was a chaotic night across Union County. As first responders were busy with dozens of water rescues and shutting down roads, they received a report of a house explosion in North Plainfield.
Firefighters arrived to find a home on Parkview Avenue splintered into pieces and engulfed in flames. The force of the explosion was so powerful, the debris ended up halfway down the block.
After getting the fire under control, they did a thorough search and determined the house was unoccupied.
The explosion happened shortly after 11 p.m. as the floodwaters receded, according to neighbors. The cause remains under investigation.
"Everybody came out, me and my neighbors were just standing out here, trying to have as normal of a conversation as you can about this. And then, mid-conversation, the house just went up, the roof blew off," one neighbor said.
"It was such a huge noise," another neighbor added. "The force of the water was moving the cars, so I thought maybe it was just two cars that collided."
Torrential rains complicated the firefighting effort, and first responders were seen wading through ankle deep water as they dragged their hose lines.
Meanwhile, water raced into other homes on the block through basement windows and bathroom plumbing.
"This is what gets me and I feel sad, because I had so many bins of my kids' drawings and paintings from they were in elementary school, that now I think I've completely lost most of it," said one woman. "We're here, we're safe, the most important part is that we're safe."
"Tired. Frustrated. But blessed at the same time. This can all be replaced. Lives can't," Angelo Ordano said.
"In over 30 years that I've been here, it's probably been the worst, and I literally mean it was probably the worst that we've ever seen," North Plainfield Fire Chief William Eaton said.
He estimates his team responded to up to 150 water rescues.
"Vehicles floated away down the highway on Route 22. The barriers between the east- and westbound sides were actually washed away," he said.
Rain totals from N.J. flash flooding
Union and Somerset counties reported some of the highest rainfall totals. Watchung saw 6.51 inches while Mountainside saw 5.34 inches.
- Watchung, N.J. 6.51 inches
- Mountainside, N.J. 5.34 inches
- Nanuet, N.Y. 5.03 inches
- Tarrytown, N.Y. 4.06 inches
- Franklin Lakes, N.J. 3.73 inches
Several drivers had to be rescued Monday night as cars stalled across the Garden State and in parts of New York.
Many of the rescues were reported in Scotch Plains, where a bus, ambulance and UPS truck were all seen struggling in the high water. Crews used rafts and a frontloader to reach people after the intense rainfall caused the Green Brook River in the Watchung Reserve to overflow and spill onto Route 22.
"As I was locking up and closing, I saw the water, like, it was getting high, and it kept coming in here, coming in here," said Yume Sajous, who works at Look Twice consignment shop in Scotch Plains.
"It's devastating to say the least, and I could not believe when I walked in here there was two feet of water in here, four feet downstairs," Look Twice owner Elena Schatz said.
Everyone chipped in to clean up. They were grateful no one was hurt, but frustrated at the loss of merchandise.
"I am walking into my store, up to my knees in water, to clean up after 30 years, and you work so hard to make a beautiful business," Schatz said.
Flood waters overwhelmed storm drains and crept into homes.
"It started from the front steps then before you know it, the whole living room and everything was just inches of water," flood victim Kevin Castillo said.
Homeowner Anthony Raymondi said the process of rebuilding makes him nervous.
"Because it happened again, and I know what I'm going to go through again," he said.
"In the blink of an eye ... the entire street was a river"
Roselle Park Mayor Joseph Signorello III said the storm was unlike anything he's seen in his seven years as mayor.
"Something so sudden -- just to set context, Hurricane Ida was about 10 inches in over a three hour-four hour timeframe. This was about 7 inches, so you're talking about 70% of the rain that we saw in Hurricane Ida," he told CBS News New York.
He said businesses there have been hit before, and it's becoming more common and more intense.
"We are, as a municipality and regionwide, trying to adapt. We keep our sewers clean, we try to expand our sewers where we can. But at the end of the day, these natural disasters are something like we haven't seen and we're going to continue to see, and we need to make ourselves more resilient," he said.
Jahiyah Fields couldn't believe how fast the streets of Roselle Park flooded.
"In the blink of an eye, I looked up and the entire street was a river," Fields said.
Panic set in as she watched water enter her new gym, Lift Up Fitness N.J. It opened just a week ago.
She tried to mop it out.
"This is our baby. We've thrown a lot of work, time resources into this, and it means so much to us," Fields said.
She spent much of the day Tuesday trying to dry out and assess the damage. She's hoping to reopen by the end of the week.
"A minor setback, for hopefully a major comeback," Fields said.
Dowling's Irish Pub owner Russell Olden said the flooding was reminiscent of Hurricane Ida, which destroyed the restaurant and forced them to close for three years and rebuild.
"Fortunately, when we did our construction, we were aware of what happens here so we were able to work on raising the level of the floor a little bit, preventative measures, putting in pumps," he said.
This time around, he reopened Tuesday afternoon. Supportive customers came in.
"Everyone loves them and they want them to be open. So I think no matter what happens here they're gonna have a line of people making sure they're opening the next day, if they can," customer Mike Butler said.
"We spend about $2 million a year in infrastructure," Signorello said, "Looking at some of the sewer upgrades that we'd have to do It's $25 to $30 million, right? So. This is stuff that Roselle Park on its own can't afford, we need some help."
