Tracking Ida: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Declares State Of Emergency As Storms Cause Damage Across State
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- There were reports of deaths in parts of New Jersey as remnants of Hurricane Ida caused damage all across the state Wednesday.
Passaic Mayor Hector Lora confirmed to CBS2 that they have reports of multiple fatalities in their downtown area.
They are believed to have been in their cars and swept away in the flash flooding.
Emergency responders in Passaic were also sent to rescue multiple people from their homes.
Just after 10 p.m., Gov. Phil Murphy announced he was declaring a state of emergency in response to the storm.
"We will use every resource at our disposal to ensure the safety of New Jerseyans," he said.
Residents are encouraged to stay off the roads.
PSE&G trucks were lined up and down Upper Boulevard in Ridgewood after trees came down, taking wires down with it. Those wires then sparked fires.
The rain and the lightning were dangerous Wednesday night. As CBS2's Jessica Layton reports, at times, the lightning was the only thing illuminating dark streets in Bergen County.
Several roads closed due to flooding, including side streets as well as portions of Route 3, Route 22 and Route 78.
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Cars were also stuck on flooded roads in Middlesex County, where the Raritan River was rising rapidly.
Watch John Elliott's report --
Video taken inside a home in Montclair shows flood waters pouring in through windows.
In Newark, vehicles got stuck on Hamilton Street and New Jersey Railroad Avenue, and basements were flooded in Hoboken.
Watch Dick Brennan's report --
In West Caldwell, resident Kathy Pace shot video of water rushing past her home after a brook that runs adjacent to her house overflowed.
"We could hear the brook rushing, and then, you know, between that 8 o'clock hour where we got over three inches of rain, it ran over, across the street, towards our house, down our driveway. It got into our house, so we've spent the evening trying to bail out from that," she told CBS2. "But it's just really scary how quickly it comes."
WATCH: Ida Remnants Cause Major Flooding In West Caldwell, New Jersey --
Farther south in New Jersey, it appears a tornado touched down in Mullica Hill in Gloucester County, ripping roofs off homes and, in other cases, ripping homes to shreds.
Several roads in that area are impassable from trees and wires being strewn across them.
CBS2's Jessica Layton contributed to this report.
