Shocking video showed shoppers scramble when part of a roof collapsed at a wholesale store in New Jersey, as hours of heavy rain led to flooded roads throughout the tri-state.
Rounds of powerful storms dumped inches of rain across the New York City area, with parts of Long Island and the Jersey Shore getting hit particularly hard. As much as three inches of rain per hour fell in some spots.
The roof collapse occurred at a BJ’s Wholesale Club in Ocean Township just after 11 a.m. Monday. Surveillance video showed shoppers milling about when the roof suddenly gave in, sending water rushing onto the shelves of bakery items. Those inside the store were seen running as a wave of water started to knock over everything in its path.
Two people were briefly trapped in debris but managed to escape. Despite dozens of shoppers and employees inside the store at the time, fortunately no injuries were reported, according to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Just a few miles away, in Asbury Park, the afternoon downpours overwhelmed Wesley Lake — just one of numerous flash floods along the Jersey Shore. The banks of the lake were breached, and what is known as Lake Avenue that typically runs along the lake essentially became one with the lake. Streets throughout the town were flooded and impassable.
Both Ocean Township and Asbury Park are in Monmouth County, where nearly six inches of rain fell in a short time Monday in places like Neptune. In some areas, debris that covered drain gates made it difficult for waters to recede.
“Nothing too serious. They have us running from call to call,” said Lakewood Police Capt. Leroy Marshall.
Also hit hard were parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, as well as Coney Island and the Rockaways, where significant street flooding made travel difficult.
Heavy rain stranded cars on flooded highways across northern New Jersey and sloshed water into businesses and at least one hospital. The trauma unit and the lobby of the emergency department at Jersey Shore University Medical Center had its floor covered in water. While the water certainly caused some issues, hospital officials said patient care was not impacted.
The storms hit a day after a heat wave that had gripped the region for days mercifully came to an end Sunday. Temperatures Monday were 20 degrees cooler or more than conditions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
On Sunday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned about heatstroke and shared locations of pools and cooling centers. By Monday, he was urging people to leave basement apartments immediately if they saw water rising in their homes.
The rain and storms broke the heat dome that settled over much of the Northeast last week. LaGuardia Airport set a record high Thursday of 104 degrees. Low temperatures in many places barely made it below 80 degrees, preventing people from cooling off even at night.
Fast forward to Monday, and temperatures at LaGuardia hovered just below 70 degrees Monday during the rain.
Officials in New Jersey were investigating at least 29 deaths last week that were possibly heat-related. The people were found dead on the street or in homes without air conditioning. They ranged in ages from their 30s to their 80s, New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Raynard Washington said.
Autopsies and other investigations will be needed before the deaths are officially blamed on the heat, Washington said.
