15 water rescues, 125 Calls To Police In South Brunswick Amid Ida

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Remnants of Hurricane Ida created flash flooding in South Brunswick on Wednesday. Heavy rain started around 5 p.m. and by 11:30 p.m. over 8 inches of rain had fallen in the Township, police said.

There were 125 calls for police, fire, and EMS service and 15 water rescues. Two families trapped in vehicles were rescued by firefighters and briefly sheltered at police headquarters. Police also received 11 flooded basement calls.

Between 8:30 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. Wednesday night, firefighters rescued 15 people from vehicles stuck in flash floodwaters. Here are the locations of the water rescues:

• Kendall Park Fire Department - Route 1, Oakey Drive, Hawthorne Road, Shelly Road
• Monmouth Junction Fire Department – Route 130, Major Road, Blackhorse Lane
• Kingston Fire Department – Route 1, Mapleton Road, Raymond Road

No serious injuries were reported as a result of the storm. Police said 33 cars were towed from flooded roads. As of 3 p.m. Thursday, all township roads were cleared of floodwaters with the exception of Route 27 at the Princeton border.

South Brunswick Office of Emergency Management Director and Police Chief Raymond Hayducka thanked the officers who risked their lives to keep people safe.

“I want to thank all the police officers and firefighters who risked going into flooded waters to get people to safety. The flash flooding created life-threatening conditions in minutes. The conditions yesterday deteriorated rapidly last evening and too many people ventured out onto the roads.” Hayducka said.

“The property damage left behind will be cleaned up in the coming days, but we must all remember to stay off roads when flash flooding is present.”

Officials have linked at least nine New Jerseyans' deaths to Ida, as the state continues to recover from the storm. People lost homes, streets remain flooded and public transportation has been hampered.

"It's been a sadly tragic and historic 24 hours in New Jersey," Murphy said as he stood in front of one of at least nine homes that was destroyed in Mullica Hill, Gloucester County, Wednesday night. "This is going to take us some time to dig out of. We're going to stay here, and be by the side of the residents and the small businesses that have been impacted so severely."

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