Flood — Gloucester, New Jersey

2011-08-14 · near Mt Royal, Gloucester, New Jersey

Event narrative

The runoff from the heavy rain caused flooding in northern Gloucester County including the Mantua Creek basin. A 55-year-old woman drowned after she drove into the swollen creek. Her body was recovered on the 15th. In West Deptford, a 30 foot by 15 foot sink hole caused a basement masonry wall collapse on Ellwood Avenue. Near the Mantua Creek, the southern end of the Willow Woods Mobile Home Park on Crown Point Road (New Jersey State Route 44) was flooded and evacuated. The roadway remained closed into the 15th. Paradise Road in West Deptford was also closed. Event precipitation totals in the Mantua Creek drainage basin averaged 4 to 5 inches.

Wider weather episode

A series of thunderstorms preceding a cold front dropped three to seven inches of rain across a wide swath of New Jersey (less along most of the coast) from overnight on the 13th into the day on the 14th. But in southern Gloucester, Eastern Salem and Western Cumberland County, rainfall amounts reached seven to eleven inches. Scattered thunderstorms occurred into the 15th and morning of the 16th. This slowed the recession of rivers and streams in the state. The combined event caused severe flash flooding with dam breaks in southwestern New Jersey and flash flooding and flooding across central and northern New Jersey. Damage estimates reached around 25 million dollars, most of which occurred in Salem and Cumberland Counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.8101, -75.2113)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 347737. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.