Flash Flood in New Jersey, January 18, 1999

The combination of showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain, the already saturated ground and ice jams along area streams caused flooding and led to the collapse of the foundations of three homes in the county in Hamburg Borough and Andover Township. Two families were displaced. In one home, the flood waters flowed into the house and took out the basement causing the foundation to collapse. In Hamburg, the basement walls of another house imploded after water was forcing itself into the basement. In the third house, the back wall of a basement collapsed. New Jersey State Route 94 was flooded between Hardyston and Vernon. Road crews feverishly worked at removing ice from storm drains and roads that help exacerbate the flooding in the county. Storm totals were not excessively large, but this event came just a couple of days after another heavy precipitation event. The combination of the heavy rain, ice melt, clogged catch basins and saturated ground all contributed to the flooding. Rainfall totals from the 18th included 1.18 inches in Wantage, .80 in Montague and .78 in Newton.