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Firefighters and police rescued other members of his victim’s family, Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said, as the region surveyed the aftermath in the sun-drenched light of day.
“I believe just like every other municipality in the state as a whole and the tri-state area, we were caught by surprise,” Lora said. “No one could have predicted the storm would have taken such a turn for the worst.”
The tropical depression brought a torrential downpour, along with tornadoes, fires, power outages, roadway collapses and more.
Nine deaths in all were initially reported throughout New Jersey, along with dozens upon dozens of rescues.
A Little Falls woman swept away by floodwaters after she got out of her car was still missing and believed dead, authorities said Thursday. READ MORE....
Two people remained unaccounted for early Thursday afternoon in the incident that killed the 70-year-old passenger from Clifton near the underpass at Passaic and Van Houten avenues in Passaic.
City firefighters rescued a woman and her adult son but couldn't get to the unidentified man in time.
The rainfall at one point reached a rate of three inches per hour, flooding highways and local roads, collapsing buildings, toppling trees and wreaking havoc throughout Bergen and Passaic counties. Totals reached 8.59 inches in Waldwick and 8.43 in Passaic.
It was almost easier to count the number of areas in North Jersey that weren't severely affected.
Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency, flights were cancelled after Newark Airport was flooded and New Jersey Transit suspended rail service. Thousands of homes and businesses in both counties lost power. Fires broke out across the state.
Newark Airport eventually reopened Thursday, but Teterboro Airport remained closed.
SEE: Nine Dead, 3 Tornados, Torrential Flooding: NJ Recovers From Storm
Water rescues were reported in Totowa, Rutherford, Cresskill, Glen Rock, Hawthorne, Passaic, Little Falls, Englewood, Demarest, Old Tappan, Montvale and Woodland Park.
One of the most dramatic occurred at a bridge over the engorged Passaic River.
City firefighters cut a hole in the deck of the Temple Street bridge off Presidential Boulevard in Paterson to rescue a man who'd become stuck beneath it late Wednesday as a relentless downpour brought by Tropical Storm Ida bombarded New Jersey.
SEE: IDA: Firefighters Cut Hole In Paterson Bridge To Rescue Man Trapped In Passaic River Below
Among other incidents:
- An electrocution was reported in Hackensack;
- Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center were flooded;
- A Tesla dealership on Route 17 in Paramus suffered a partial building collapse;
- A lightning strike blew out the windows of a Tenafly home;
- An NJ Transit worker was struck by a tree branch near the Montvale station;
- County Road at the Cresskill/Demarest border collapsed, swallowing vehicles whole.
A house explosion also was reported on Canal Street in Paterson.
Fires broke out at an industrial building in Carlstadt, at a single-family home on Jones Road in Englewood and a vacant home in Paterson where squatters were forced to flee.
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