Nor’easter floods New York and New Jersey as states activate emergency response

New York and New Jersey activated emergency operations as a slow-moving nor’easter flooded coastal communities and disrupted power across the Northeast on Saturday, September 26. The storm brought strong winds, heavy rain and large waves, according to the Associated Press. State officials warned that high tides could bring further flooding, making conditions dangerous for residents on roads and near the water.

The New York City Housing Authority said one of its employees was killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn during the storm, AP reported. The reported death underscores the danger from falling trees as well as coastal flooding. The available reports do not establish a final casualty total or a complete assessment of damage.

Flooding reaches streets and homes

In Howard Beach, Queens, residents navigated flooded streets after high tide brought water ranging from several inches to more than a foot, CBS News New York reported. Resident Kenneth Cook described damage to his stove and preparations for another high tide. The account shows how the threat extended into homes, even where the immediate concern was water in local streets.

On the New Jersey coast, AP reported that emergency crews in Sea Bright rescued a woman and her dog from a vehicle trapped in floodwater, citing ABC7. In Surf City, marina owner Kenny Formica told AP that water inside his marina was rare. He recalled Hurricane Sandy in 2012 as the last such occurrence and said that storm caused more than $4 million in damage to his business.

Power cuts and damaging winds

AP reported about 100,000 customers without power across the region in its September 26 account. That figure is a snapshot from Saturday, not a final outage total. CBS reported that PSEG Long Island had restored service to more than 61,000 customers between Friday morning and 9 p.m. Saturday, while nearly 13,000 remained without service. The utility warned that further outages were possible.

CBS recorded peak gusts by 4 p.m. Saturday of 81 mph in Montauk, New York; 66 mph in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey; 61 mph in Farmingdale, New York; and 56 mph in Jersey City, New Jersey. Those are reported measurements at specific places and times. They should not be read as wind speeds across the whole storm area.

What the emergency declarations do

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency on September 25 covering the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Her office said the state activated its Emergency Operations Center for enhanced monitoring and pre-positioned swift-water rescue teams and high-axle vehicles. It reported 5,675 workers available statewide for storm response and utility restoration, including 175 mutual-aid contractors secured by Con Edison.

New Jersey’s emergency declaration took effect at 5 p.m. September 25 in Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties. Governor Mikie Sherrill’s office said it activated the State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate agencies and county emergency offices, share information and deploy resources. Sherrill warned on Saturday that some roads were already flooded and impassable, CBS reported.

Federal responders were also preparing for possible wider disruption. AP reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had raised the posture of its response coordination centers and placed teams on standby in New England for possible widespread outages. Those preparations did not establish that every anticipated impact had occurred; they reflected the risk officials were managing while the storm continued.

High-tide risk continues

National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec said high winds, high tides and heavy rain were expected to persist, according to AP. Its reporting identified the highest tides north of Atlantic City from Saturday night into Sunday and warned of possible road flooding in coastal and bayside communities. CBS’s September 26 forecast also identified renewed coastal flooding as a concern around Sunday evening’s high tide.

New York’s September 25 forecast anticipated gusts up to 60 mph, widespread rainfall of 1.5 to 3 inches and 3 to 5 inches in eastern Long Island. Those figures were forecasts, not final storm measurements. The governor’s office urged people to avoid beaches, boating and other water recreation, and to turn away from flooded roads. Hochul warned, in remarks reported by AP, that anyone going in or near the water that weekend was ‘literally gambling with their life.’

Sherrill urged New Jersey residents to charge phones, secure loose outdoor items and avoid driving where possible. Both governors’ offices specifically warned against driving through flooded roads. Conditions could change with the next high tide, so the declarations and warnings remained more useful to residents than any single regional outage count or early damage estimate.

The storm’s earlier coastal flooding and the two states’ emergency declarations are covered in our related report, ‘Nor’easter storm brings coastal flooding, as New York and New Jersey declare emergency.’ The next unresolved questions are how much additional flooding occurred with later tides, when power service was restored and what the full damage and casualty assessments show.