Flash Flood — Morris, New Jersey

2000-08-12 to 2000-08-17 · near Countywide, Morris, New Jersey

Wider weather episode

A nearly unprecedented thunderstorm with torrential downpour remained nearly stationary for about six hours from 9 a.m. EDT through 3 p.m. EDT on August 12th over the Hamburg Mountains of eastern Sussex County. Doppler Radar Storm total estimates reached around 15 inches along the Sussex/Morris County border. Two to three inches of rain fell per hour in the strongest storms and caused considerable, widespread and devastating flooding across southeastern Sussex County and western Morris County. Mud and rock slides exacerbated the damage. This was approximately a one in a thousand year event. About 2,700 homes and businesses were flooded. Eight houses were totally destroyed, about one hundred suffered major damage. About 2,600 persons were evacuated in Morris, Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon Counties, including children at a day camp in Byram Township (Sussex County). In Morris County, three bridges were destroyed, two dams were badly damaged, four others suffered some damage and about two dozen roads were closed or damaged. The torrential rain caused a record rise in Lake Hopatcong and lakeside flooding in Jefferson and Roxbury Townships (Morris County). The record level of Lake Hoptacong led to downstream flooding along the Musconetcong River through Warren and Hunterdon Counties. In Sussex County: three dams were destroyed, six other dams were damaged, three bridges were destroyed, eight others were closed or damaged and three roads were swept away. Countless others were closed. Newton's water mains were ruptured by the flash flooding cutting off its main water supply. A temporary hookup was made to Sparta's water system. It might be up to four years before the lines will be repaired. Water restrictions were placed in effect for those two communities. In addition, residents in Newton, Ogdensburg, Sparta (all Sussex County) and Jefferson and Roxbury (Morris County) were advised to boil their water before consuming it. The greatest damage to any business occurred to Compac Corporation in Stanhope (Sussex County) after the Furnace Pond Dam failed on Sunday the 13th. The Musconetcong River crashed into the building and flooded the entire first floor. Throughout the area persons were rescued after their vehicles drove into the water on collapsed roadways. Miraculously no serious injuries occurred. Around an inch of additional rain fell on Monday the 14th. This continued the fear of further mudslides, dam collapses and flooding, especially along the Musconetcong River. The additional rain also caused flooding along the main stem of the Passaic River in Morris County. A state of emergency was declared for Morris and Sussex Counties on the 14th. A federal disaster area declaration was issued by President Clinton for Morris and Sussex Counties on the 16th. Damage was estimated at 179 million dollars. About 12,000 GPU Energy customers lost power. The only death occurred when a 58-year-old man's kayak overturned on the Musconetcong River in Hunterdon County on the 15th and he apparently drowned. **** IN SUSSEX COUNTY ****Sussex County bore the brunt of the storm with about 1,700 homes and businesses damaged. About half of the monetary damage occurred to roads, dams, bridges and public buildings. No place was hit harder than Sparta Township. Devastating flooding occurred near and along the Glen Brook and Wallkill River. The raging Glen Brook carved a canyon in Sparta Glen (a township park), uprooted trees and brought boulders down from Edison and Sparta Mountains. The brook also tore the water mains of Newton's water supply from Morris Lake. The two mains were torn for 1.5 miles. Repairs were expected to take up to four years. The lower section of Glen Road (County Route 620) fell into the Sparta Glen. It continued to collapse through Monday (the 14th). A 50 foot by 50 foot and 20 foot deep hole was created where the road was. Repairs were expected to take one year and damage to Sparta Glen was estimated at 2 million dollars. The torrential rains filled ponds and lakes and caused dam failures. Both the Edison Pond and Seneca Dams were destroyed. In the latter, the 25 acre lake completely drained leaving behind dead fish. The Sparta and Hawthorne Lake Dams were damaged. Three hundred tons of gravel was used to shore the Fox Trail Lake Dam. One hundred homes were evacuated near the dam. Mudslides down Sparta and Edison Mountains through the 14th covered County Route 517 (Main Street), the tracks of the New York-Susquehanna and Western Railroad and the Eagle's Nest Wastewater pump station. About 200 persons along Main Street were evacuated through Monday (the 14th) out of fear of further mudslides. Slow service along the railroad was restored that afternoon. The road was totally repaired in early October. In addition to Glen Road and the Glen Road Bridge, the flash flooding totally swept away sections of Edison Road and Old Forge River Road and totally destroyed the Seneca Lake Bridge. Other bridges were damaged including the Main Street, Station Road, Park Street, Morris Lake and the bridge near Arapaho Trail. Persons living on Old Forge River Road and Morris Lake Road only access to the outside world was via foot bridges. Temporary bridges were reopened by August 26th. The bridge repair near Arapaho Trail was completed on September 25th. Prior to that repair, it took residents and school buses over 45 minutes to reach the downtown areas of Sparta (normally a 10 minute trip). Most of the home damage occurred along Main Street and Glen Road. Three homes in the township were destroyed, seven were deemed uninhabitable and fifty other were damaged. In Stanhope Borough, the largest singular loss occurred when the Musconetcong River Dam and the Furnace Pond Dam were damaged. The drainage conduit on the Furnace Pond Dam was eroded to three times its normal size when a large concrete chunk broke away. It increased the outflow along the Musconetcong River. The river rose from five feet to twenty feet. The river normally flows underneath the Compac Corporation's building. But the sudden rise ripped away a bank that normally channeled the flow away from the first floor. Instead it flowed straight into the first floor of the building. The water reached six feet high and shifted large amounts of inventory, pushed 2,000 rolls of paper out of the building and drenched thousands of dollars of equipment. A forty-two inch diameter tree became stuck within the first floor. About 1,800 feet of the parking lot was ripped away. The structural integrity of the building was intact, but all of the company's machinery was damaged. Damage was expected to be in the millions. Production resumed in mid-September. Flood damage also occurred to the nearby Isolatek International Company, but was not as substantial. A few other businesses in Stanhope and Netcong (Morris County) suffered minor damage. The Kelly Place Bridge was damaged and not reopened until September 4th. The New Jersey State Route 183 bridge was also closed because it was flooded, but it was not damaged. In Ogdensburg Borough, three bridges over the Wallkill River were badly damaged (Corkhill Road, Kennedy Avenue and Bridge Street) and closed. About 200 persons were evacuated. These closings either isolated families (they had to walk across makeshift foot bridges) or forced them to go into the next township to reach their homes. Two were still closed in early October. Two roads were closed because the Wallkill River tore away the asphalt. One of them, the Corkhill Road Tunnel was closed indefinitely. Four homes had water damage up to their second floor. A water main on Corkhill Road was breached. This forced the borough to declare a state of emergency because of low water supply. It was repaired on Tuesday (the 15th),In Byram Township, the failure of the Seneca Lake Dam led to the destruction of the Tomahawk Lake Dam and the Tomahawk Trail Bridge (near the Sparta border). The Tomahawk Water Recreation Park was destroyed. The Lake Drive Bridge near Lake Lackawanna was closed indefinitely. The Kelly Place Bridge was also damaged. Three hundred families in the Brookwood Neighborhood along River Road near the Musconetcong River were evacuated on Monday (the 14th). Hundreds of children were evacuated on Monday from the Jefferson Lake Day Camp because of the unknown integrity of a nearby dam. In Hardyston Township, About 20 families were evacuated from around Summit Lake. The dams around Summit Lake, Tamarack Lake and Lake Girard were damaged, but remained intact. The Tamarack Lake Dam was aided by 1,000 sandbags. New Jersey State Route 23 was closed in Stockholm. The township estimated property damage at nearly one million dollars. In Newton Town, a strip mall was submerged. But the largest problem was the loss of its two water mains from Morris Lake. It supplied 80 percent of the town's water. Half of the town lost its water instantaneously. The town set up four 5,000 gallon water tankers to distribute water. Many businesses were closed on Monday the 14th. A temporary connection to Sparta's water supply was completed on Tuesday the 15th. But it was estimated that it will take from 1 to 4 years to re-establish its own water supply at a cost of up to 3 million dollars. In Franklin Borough, about 130 persons were evacuated along the Wallkill River and Franklin Pond. County Route 517 into Sparta Township was closed because of mudslides. Elsewhere in Sussex County, a few roads were closed due to flooding in Frankford Township, Hamburg Borough, Lafayette Township and Wantage Township. About a dozen businesses suffered flood damage in Franklin and Hamburg Boroughs and Sparta Township. Farms were flooded along the Wallkill River. Saturday's storm totals included 14.11 inches in Sparta, 6.84 inches in Hamburg, 4.33 inches in Stockholm, 2.84 inches in Vernon, 2.47 inches in Wantage, 2.08 inches in Sussex and 1.18 inches in Andover. On Monday the 14th, 1.15 inches fell in Andover and 0.71 inches in Andover.**** IN MORRIS COUNTY ****In Morris County, the unprecedented rainfall caused a record rise on Lake Hoptacong as well as flash flooding across the western part of the county. Flooding along the Rockaway River then pushed downstream toward and beyond the Boonton Reservoir. Flooding also occurred around Lake Shawnee and was exacerbated by damage to its dam. About 1,000 homes and businesses were damaged. Two houses were destroyed, 75 suffered major damage while 727 others suffered minor damage. About two dozen county bridges and roads were damaged. Three bridges were destroyed. Hundreds of roads were closed including the much traveled New Jersey State Route 15. Vehicles drove into flood waters after several roadways collapsed. About 150 persons were rescued from flood waters. About 400 persons were evacuated, mainly from locations near Lake Hopatcong and Lake Shawnee. Damage in the county was estimated at 12 million dollars.The hardest hit municipality in Morris County was Jefferson Township. The heaviest rain in the county fell over this township with Doppler Radar storm total estimates of 15 inches. The township suffered flooding from three fronts: Lake Hopatcong, Lake Shawnee and the Rockaway River and its tributaries. Lake Hopatcong rose nearly twelve feet on Saturday (the 12th) to its highest level in 114 years of record. At 6 a.m. EDT on Sunday (the 13th), the lake was 34 inches above the dam that spills into the Musconetcong River (in Roxbury Township). The previous record was set in 1955. The rise in Lake Hopatcong flooded the basements of lakeside homes. Fish were found in the basements. The lake also lifted boats above fixed docks and eventually pulled them under water. Hundreds of docks and dozens of boats were pulled under water. Other boats sunk. Boat lines were cut in the hopes of stopping boats from sinking. Sections of docks, propane tanks and lawn furniture were floating in the lake. The State Police Marine Bureau in Great Cove was flooded. After the rain ended, a boating ban was placed in effect to prevent damage to boats by the debris and further lakefront home damage from waves. A swimming ban was also in effect due to goose droppings that streamed into the lake, oil escaping from sunken boats and outflow from nearby septic tanks. A boil drinking water advisory was issued by both Jefferson and Roxbury Townships. The Lake Shawnee Dam was badly damaged. The lake engulfed homes, damaged boats and tore off driveways. Residents were evacuated from around the lake. The loosened ground helped a tree crash onto a house near the lake. The torrential rain caused flash flooding along the Rockaway River and its tributaries. The Dover-Milton Road Bridge and two bridges on Taylor Road between County Route 699 and New Jersey State Route 15 were destroyed. They were reopened by the 28th of August. Bridges on Lower Berkshire Valley Road, Russia Road and Lorettacong Trail were closed due to roadway washouts. Vehicles drove into flood waters. Boulders, tree stumps and tires littered roadways. New Jersey State Route 15 was closed in several locations because of either flooding or rock slides. The worst one occurred toward Interstate 80. The state route was reopened on the 13th by using the shoulder on the south side of the highway. Flooding was so high on Espanong Road that a dog was rescued from a roof. Roads along Weldon Brook were also flooded. Several township dams (Lake Winona, Swannanoa, Hartung and No Name #51) showed signs of erosion and wear, but held. In Roxbury Township, all 160 lakeside (Hopatcong) homes had water encroaching upon the docks. Forty-eight homes had either interior flood or structural damage. Two businesses along the lake were badly damaged. Berkshire Valley Road was closed. In Mount Arlington Borough, flooding near the lake started at 10 a.m. EDT. About 50 homes were evacuated along the lake. In Mount Olive Township, the worst flooding occurred on Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th after the Furnace Pond Dam was damaged. The rising Musconetcong River changed its course and flooded the Tilcon Quarry. The quarry became a 75 acre lake. Two bridges were closed between the township and Netcong Borough. As a precaution, New Jersey Transit canceled service between Mount Olive Township and Hackettstown on the 14th. The fortunate diversion of the river into the active quarry prevented flood damage from occurring farther downstream in Warren and Hunterdon Counties. It is expected to take several months to dry the Tilcon Quarry. About five homes along the river were evacuated on the 14th. A couple of businesses along the river in Netcong Borough were flooded. In Washington Township, the East Avenue Bridge (over the Musconetcong River) into Hackettstown was closed through the morning of the 15th. Elsewhere, in Rockaway Township, New Jersey State Route 15 was also closed near Mase Mountain as trees, boulders and dirt washed across the roadway. Several families were evacuated after flood waters ripped away a 30 foot chunk of the foundation under Mountain View Manor. There were wet basements throughout the township. Even though the rain was lighter, flooding along the Rockaway River extended downstream from Jefferson Township. In Wharton Borough, the Washington Forge Dam was badly damaged. The overflow from the dam divided the borough in half. One family along Main Street was rescued and evacuated. Ross Street was damaged. In Dover Township, forty people were evacuated near the Rockaway River. Nine roadways including New Jersey State Route 15 was flooded. Basements were flooded and cars were stuck in flood waters. In Denville Township, five roads were closed on the 13th near the river. Property right along the river was submerged. A canoeist was rescued from the river after it capsized. The Rockaway River above the Boonton Reservoir reached its 5 foot flood stage at 8 p.m. EDT on the 13th. It crested at 5.04 feet at midnight on the 14th and was back within bankfull at 2 a.m. EDT on the 14th. The Rockaway River below the Boonton Reservoir reached its 5 foot flood stage at 7 a.m. EDT on the 13th, crested at 6.59 feet at 1230 p.m. EDT on the 13th and was back within bankfull at 3 a.m. EDT on the 16th. The Passaic River at Pine Brook reached its 19 foot flood stage at 8 p.m. EDT on the 14th, crested at 19.24 feet at 1245 p.m. EDT on the 15th and was back within bankfull at Midnight EDT on the 17th. Storm totals on the 12th included 8.46 inches in Berkshire Valley, 6.50 inches in Middle Valley, 5.63 inches in West Wharton, 4.20 inches in Milton, 2.56 inches in Boonton, 1.85 inches in Ironia, 1.82 inches in Chatham, 1.53 inches in Marcella and 1.51 inches in Morris Plains. On Monday the 14th, an additional inch to inch and a half of rain fell across the county. Storm totals included 1.68 inches in Marcella, 1.30 inches in Long Valley and 0.90 inches in Chatham. **** IN WARREN AND HUNTERDON COUNTIES ****Warren and Hunterdon Counties suffered flooding from two sides. There was the initial small stream flooding that occurred with the torrential downpours during the afternoon of the 12th. Then there was the subsequent river flooding along the Musconetcong River after the Furnace Pond Dam was damaged on the 13th through the 16th. On the afternoon of the 12th, small stream flooding in Warren County was mainly confined to Allamuchy Township. In Hunterdon County, there was more widespread torrential downpours and flooding affected the eastern half of the county. In Raritan Township, eight apartments were evacuated as access to the homes was cut off by flood waters. Three township roads were closed as the South Branch of the Raritan River flooded. In Readington Township, the Pleasant Run Brook flooded. It flooded and eroded Pleasant Run Road as well as basements along the roadway. A man was rescued in five feet of water on the roadway. A tributary of the South Branch of the Raritan River flooded River Avenue. Stream flooding also caused erosion along Old York Road. In Tewksbury Township, the Rockaway Creek overflowed. In Hampton Borough, the borough park was flooded. After the Furnace Pond Dam (in Sussex County) was damaged on the 13th, flooding began along the Musconetcong River. But, downstream locations received a lucky break when the river flooding changed the course of the river itself. The river diverted itself into the Tilcon Quarry in Mount Olive Township. The quarry became a 75 acre lake and by holding back part of the discharge prevented worse flooding from occurring downstream. Nevertheless, evacuations took place in Warren and Hunterdon Counties, partly because the river was flooding, but also from fear that the Furnace Pond and Musconetcong Lake dams would completely fail. In Hackettstown (Warren County), East Avenue was flooded by the river and families and the elderly were evacuated from Waterloo Road and East Avenue. The East Avenue Bridge into Washington Township (Morris County) was closed due to flooding through Wednesday morning (the 16th). There were several evacuations also in Allamuchy Township (Warren County). About an additional 300 families were recommended to evacuate in the event of dam failure. Families were evacuated near the Musconetcong River in Hunterdon County in Bethlehem Township, Bloomsbury Borough, Hampton Borough and Lebanon Township. In Lebanon Township, the Musconetcong flooded Butler's Park and adjacent roadways. Some sheds and barns were flooded. The Musconetcong River crept into some streets and grassy areas as well as throughout the Musconetcong River Greenway. It crested the night of the 14th. The only river related death occurred on the 15th, when a 58-year-old kayaker leapt out of his kayak about twenty yards upstream from the Finesville Road Bridge. Saturday (the 12th) storm totals included 2.87 inches in Stanton (Hunterdon County), 2.60 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County) and 1.51 inches in Hackettstown (Warren County). On Monday the 14th, around an additional 1.50 inches of rain fell, with the highest amounts in southern Hunterdon County. Storm totals included 2.23 inches in Wertsville (Hunterdon County), 1.42 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 1.38 inches in Hackettstown (Warren County) and 0.60 inches in Phillipsburg (Warren County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5172752. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.