Two women have died in New Jersey after severe flash flooding swept their car off the road in Plainfield on Monday night. The victims, who have not been named, were trapped in their vehicle in Cedar Brook as waters surged, and rescuers were unable to reach them due to the storm's intensity. Authorities believe they drowned.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency on Monday night as storms battered the region, with New York state also issuing a similar declaration. 'We're not unique, but we're in one of these sorts of high humidity, high temperature, high storm intensity patterns right now,' Murphy told reporters on Tuesday. 'Everybody needs to stay alert.'
The flooding caused widespread disruption across the East Coast. In Plainfield, roads were damaged, sidewalks were missing, and debris was strewn everywhere. Authorities are investigating a house fire and collapse, possibly linked to an explosion. New York City's subway system was inundated with water, with video showing stations filling up and water sloshing into carriages.
By Tuesday morning, the subway system was fully operational, according to Janno Lieber, chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. He explained that the city's sewer system became overwhelmed, backing up into subway tunnels and stations, and in some cases popping manholes, creating geysers seen in videos. 'What happened last night is something that is, you know, a reality in our system,' Lieber said, urging the city to increase capacity at key locations.
Air travel was also severely affected, with dozens of flights delayed or cancelled at six area airports. Newark Liberty Airport saw 159 cancellations, according to FlightAware data. Some roads remained closed across both states on Tuesday morning.
