Torrents Took Two Lives: New Jersey Flash Flood Turns Deadly, Manhattan Subways Swamped, Sewers Blast Open

New York: Two people lost their lives in New Jersey after floodwaters swept away their vehicle during a powerful overnight storm that hit the U.S. Northeast, officials said on Tuesday.

Emergency crews reached there quickly. It did not matter. By the time they pulled the bodies out, the flood had already finished its story. The city confirmed their deaths. Their names are being held for now.

Governor Phil Murphy stood amid the wreckage in Berkeley Heights. He did not dress it up. “Everybody needs to stay alert,” he said. The air hung heavy with humidity and the ground still soft with runoff.

This was not the first storm death this month. On July 3, two others were killed in Plainfield. A third person died in nearby North Plainfield.

This time, the storm did not stop at New Jersey. It battered down on south-central Pennsylvania, flooded the streets of Lancaster County and punched into the heart of New York. There, underground, the chaos became visible.

In Manhattan, the water surged through the veins of the city. A subway station turned into a drainpipe. Viral clips showed water gushing down stairwells, spilling over the platform and creeping onto train floors. Some passengers stood on seats to stay dry.

Janno Lieber, the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), said the sewer system is lost. The rain came faster than it could carry away. In some areas, it overwhelmed the tunnels. “It popped a manhole,” he said. The geyser exploded into the station.

What New York saw was not new. It has become a pattern. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy drowned parts of the subway system. Millions were spent waterproofing the infrastructure. Floodgates were built. Vents were raised. Curbs were added. But every year, the rain keeps testing what is left.

In 2021, Hurricane Ida’s remnants filled the city again. Basement apartments turned into death traps. Water poured into the subways. More people died. Another lesson was learned. But not for long.

This storm pushed the limits again. In Central Park, the rain came down at one of the highest hourly rates ever recorded.

New York’s Environmental Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala tried to put it into words people could picture, “Imagine pouring two liters of water into a one-liter bottle.” That is what happened to the city’s sewers. They backed up. They had nowhere to go.

The subway is technically outside City Hall’s control. It is run by the MTA. But both sides have been working on clearing sewers near 45 high-risk stations. That is not enough. To fix everything, it would take about $30 billion. Right now, New York spends $1 billion a year on stormwater upgrades.

In Pennsylvania, 7 inches of rain fell in a matter of hours. Some roads broke open. Basements flooded. Rescue boats were deployed. In New Jersey, a highway was shut down for emergency repair.

Murphy said the damage was still being counted. Some pavement had buckled. The White House had reached out.

In North Plainfield, the water did not just drown the streets. It sparked fire. A home caught flames and collapsed after what Murphy described as an explosion. Nobody was inside. The cause is still being investigated.

At Newark Airport, passengers were grounded. A total of 173 flights were canceled. Others were stuck on tarmacs or in terminals.

By Tuesday, the skies calmed. The flood warnings faded. But in many homes, streets and subway cars, the aftermath lingered. Waterlogged. Heavy. Waiting to be cleared.