Man Found Dead In Maplewood Floodwaters Morning After Storm Ida

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A Maplewood man was found deceased Thursday amid the floodwaters left by Tropical Depression Ida, police said in a release Thursday evening.

Police Chief Jim DuVal said that a woman called police at 9:30 Wednesday night to say her husband went outside during the storm for about an hour and had not returned.

DuVal said: "Officers and Fire Rescue Personnel along with neighbors conducted a thorough check of the surrounding area and were unable to locate him due to dark and hazardous flood conditions. The following morning at about 7:12 a.m., patrols located an individual who appeared to be deceased in the area of 658 Ridgewood Road.

"EMS and advanced life support were dispatched to the scene. The victim was pronounced deceased by medical personnel on scene. It is believed that he may have been attempting to remove debris from drains in the area and was suddenly swept up into dangerous flood waters. The Regional Medical Examiner responded to the scene and transported the victim to their facility to determine the cause of death. Detectives later confirmed this person as the missing resident reported the prior evening."

A story in Village Green said the man was in his 50s.

The storm hit North Jersey and Maplewood with so much rain Wednesday night that the town sent an alert after 8 p.m. saying, "Maplewood is currently under a severe weather alert. At this time, residents are advised to shelter in place."

The region was under a tornado watch until 1 a.m. and was also under a flash flood warning. (See the watches and warnings for Essex and Union counties here.)

Essex County and its towns continued to clean up on Thursday morning after flooding continued. READ MORE: Millburn: 'We Are Not Out Of The Woods Yet'

While some may consider flash floods just an inconvenience, these floods have proved fatal to drivers (sometimes trapping parents and children in their cars as water rises), to children playing near small streams, and others.

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Severe storms are becoming more frequent. In fact, Hurricane Elsa in July 2021 was the earliest E-named storm in modern weather history.

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