Brief but Violent Storms in New Jersey Leave 3 Dead

New York Times

2 days ago

Three people were killed in central New Jersey on Thursday night when severe thunderstorms tore down massive trees and electrical lines, leaving thousands without power.
The storms struck Thursday evening, shortly after 6 p.m. Powerful winds accompanied heavy rain and left widespread damage, uprooting more than 80 trees and causing power outages that affected about 45,000 people, according to a statement by the authorities. Two men died in the city of Plainfield, N.J., when a tree fell on their vehicle, and a woman died in the borough of North Plainfield when a tree fell on her car, the authorities said.
In response, Fourth of July celebrations planned for Friday were canceled in Plainfield, allowing officials to concentrate on the cleanup.
'This is not the time to parade and celebrate,' Adrian O. Mapp, the mayor of Plainfield, said in an interview. 'We have to focus on the emergency at hand and support the impacted families and get normalcy restored as quickly as possible.'
Mr. Mapp identified the two male victims in Plainfield as Rocco Sansone, 79, of North Plainfield and Brian Ernesto Valladares, 25, of Plainfield. North Plainfield police had not immediately released the identity of the female victim.
Other parts of the country also spent July 4 recovering from powerful storms. High winds, heavy rain and hail lashed parts of southern New England and left many in the region without power on Thursday. In Kerr County, Texas, west of Houston, rain and flooding caused multiple deaths and widespread damage. Authorities in Texas said at least six people had died and others were missing as flood warnings remained in place on Friday.
In New Jersey, the storms were brief but violent. Mr. Mapp said the storm that reached his town carried hail and wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, but was over in five to 10 minutes. Mr. Mapp described huge trees swaying in the gusts and hail slamming against windows.
'It only lasted a short while, but the level of devastation that occurred across our entire city was something we have not seen in decades,' he said.
Numerous homes suffered significant damage, Mr. Mapp added. Many of the downed trees were entangled with power lines and outages were widespread. The state's largest utility company, Public Service Electric & Gas, hoped to restore power to most residents by Friday night.
Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey said on social media on Thursday that he had been briefed on the storms and added that they also struck the towns of Bound Brook and Dunellen, among others. He urged residents to 'avoid any downed trees, power lines, or burning transformers.'
Skies in central New Jersey are expected to be clear over the weekend, but rain, with the possibility of more thunderstorms, is forecast for Monday and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.