NJ braces for a second night of storms, with memories of Ida's destruction still lingering
NEW JERSEY — Garden State residents braced for high winds and more rain Tuesday night into Wednesday morning after heavy rains already fell across the state, closing parts of dozens of roadways, and leaving up to 4,000 homes without power, according to Gov. Phil Murphy.
The weather ahead is well worth taking seriously, he said.
"A very long storm," the governor said during his storm briefing on Tuesday morning. "With a significant amount of rainfall... and potential winds."
The combination left state officials concerned about trees coming down onto electrical wires, causing even more power outages. Over the course of the day, the number of customers without power reduced into the hundreds, but with the storm continuing, the governor warned of "considerably more outages."
The nor'easter came six weeks after rains from Hurricane Ida inundated New Jersey, and took the lives of 30 people in the state.
Because of that level of destruction and tragedy, many cities and towns in the state took measures of protection rarely seen in autumnal nor'easters like Tuesday's storm.
In seven public school districts -- Bayonne, Butler, Hazlet, Jersey City, Montclair, Orange and Paterson -- schools were shut for the day.
The feelings ran deep from the losses of last month storm, which also damaged many thousands of homes statewide.
A woman who did not want to give her name talked about the intense situation.
"This is so frustrating," she said, "when I'm trying to rebuild from Hurricane Ida and I'm worried now, is everything that I just finished putting up, the sheet rock, the plastering. I'm still living with bins on the first floor. It's heart-wrenching."
She said that state and local leaders need to do more to help people clean up after storms and prepare before them.
In her town, Lodi, she said that there was still debris on some streets from Ida, that city workers had not cleaned up. PIX11 News contacted Lodi Borough Manager Marc Schreiks regarding her complaint, but his voice mailbox was full.
For his part, Gov. Murphy said that the state is taking proper precautions, and is urging residents to stay at home if at all possible.