Residents in parts of the U.S. as far flung as New Jersey and Texas were contending with the devastating effects of heavy rain and thunderstorms that swept through their communities Thursday night.
The storms are being blamed for at least three deaths in central New Jersey, including two men in Plainfield who died after a tree fell onto a vehicle they were traveling in during the height of the storm, according to a city Facebook post.
The men were ages 79 and 25, officials said. They were not immediately publicly identified.
“Our hearts are heavy today,” Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said in a statement. “This tragedy is a sobering reminder of the power of nature and the fragility of life.”
The city canceled its planned July Fourth parade, concert and fireworks show. Mapp said the “devastating” storms had left “deep scars and widespread damage” in the community of more than 54,000 people and it was a time to “regroup and focus all of our energy on recovery.”
Continuing power outages and downed trees were reported Friday throughout southern New England, where some communities received large amounts of hail. There were reports of cars skidding off the road in northeastern Connecticut.
In Texas, as much as 10 inches of heavy rain over just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County caused flash flooding of the Guadalupe River. The Kerr County sheriff’s office confirmed fatalities on social media but did not provide additional details.
The Guadalupe’s river gauge at the unincorporated community of Hunt, where the river forks, recorded a 22 foot rise in just about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office. Fogarty said the gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and a half feet.
“We think the river’s higher than that,” Forgarty said. “The gauge is completely underwater.”
A flood watch issued Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to seven inches. That shifted to a flood warning for at least 30,000 people overnight.
The riverfront communities include several camps, wildlife habitats and campgrounds. Texas Game Wardens, part of the state parks and wildlife agency, said on Facebook that search and rescue teams are conducting rescues throughout the region and sending more boats to help.
“This is the kind of thing that will catch you unaware,” Fogarty said. “The water’s moving so fast, you’re not going to recognize how bad it is until it’s on top of you.”
