At least two people were killed in New Jersey after flash flooding swept away their vehicle during a storm that pounded the Northeast with heavy rains, authorities said Tuesday.
The two deaths happened in the northern New Jersey city of Plainfield, when the rushing waters of a brook carried away their vehicle during the height of the storm, city officials said. Their names were not immediately released to the public.
In one flooded North Plainfield neighborhood, a house caught on fire and collapsed, possibly due to an explosion, not long after the family inside had evacuated, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
The latest flash flooding deaths follow two other deaths that happened in Plainfield during another severe storm on July 3.
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“All of Plainfield grieves this latest loss,” said Mayor Adrian O. Mapp. “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 our residents from future harm.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a State of Emergency on Monday night due to flash flooding, urging residents to stay off the roads.
“We’re not unique, but we’re in one of these sort of high humidity, high temperature, high storm intensity patterns right now,” Murphy told reporters after touring storm damage in Berkeley Heights. “Everybody needs to stay alert.”
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Relentless rain inundated parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania with over six inches of rain in a short period of time Monday night into Tuesday morning, according to Fox Weather. The resulting floods stranded numerous vehicles and made roads impassable. Emergency water rescues took place to help those trapped in the floodwater.
Dozens of flights were delayed or canceled at area airports Tuesday, including 159 total cancelations at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to FlightAware data.
Most flash flood watches and warnings had expired in parts of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania as the rain moved on.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
