Parts of New Jersey once again endure flash flooding as strong storms move through
Heavy rains brought more flooding to New Jersey on Thursday, which has endured repeated damaging floods so far this summer.
In Elizabeth, on North Avenue near Spring Street, flooding was nearly waist-high. Cars were stranded in the water.
Resident Jose Susana said he was coming home from work as torrential downpours swept into town, unleashing chaos. He ran to help his teenage son move his car, but it was too late.
"The car is messed up completely. The engine, the transmission, it doesn't work. It don't run," Susana said.
Despite multiple warnings issued by Elizabeth Police to stay off the roads, CBS News New York saw many drivers take their chances and pay the price, getting stuck or stalling.
"Thank God that my car wasn't up here – my husband took my car to work – because I wouldn't have known what to do," resident Aury Ortiz said.
Some kids made the best out of the wet situation, jumping into water that rose above their knees as though they were at a water park.
Others jumped into action. Neighbors got to work unclogging storm drains themselves instead of waiting for the Department of Sanitation.
While extreme flooding has happened in the area in the past, Thursday's scene certainly left many residents scratching their heads.
"I was never expecting for Jersey or the Northeast to, you know, be hit with floods like this, but I guess they exist," resident Isaac Vera said.
"It's never been this bad. I'm just like, what is going on? Like, why does this keep happening?" Ortiz said.
By Thursday night, the floodwaters had receded, and the cleanup is now underway.
The city is giving motorists until the end of Thursday night to move their stalled vehicles, especially if they're stuck in the middle of major roadways. Any stranded vehicles that aren't moved by the end of the night will be impounded.
We've endured the wettest August in five years. The good news is, however, we are finally out of drought conditions, thanks to the consistent rounds of soaking rains.
