North Plainfield Family Escapes Devastation Amid Flash Floods

North Plainfield, N.J. – A family narrowly avoided a catastrophic situation during a severe storm that struck New Jersey. Lina Delgado-Ramos along with her husband, sisters, cousin, and their golden retriever had to leave their home to escape deadly flash floods late Monday night.

“The storm probably saved our lives. We could have been inside, thinking it was all fine, and then… boom,” she recounted on Tuesday.

Tragically, not everyone was as fortunate. Two women perished in Plainfield, and a vehicle was swept away in the flooding that affected the Tri-State area.

Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey declared a state of emergency, as certain towns, like Mountainside, experienced over 5.34 inches of rain. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the entire state.

Newark Liberty International Airport faced ground stops until 8 PM, with multiple delays and cancellations. A shocking video circulated online showed sections of New Jersey’s turnpike completely submerged.

Delgado-Ramos, 36, recalled how she packed her family and headed to higher ground around 6 PM when the flash flood warning was announced.

“We were all just trying to save our cars, moving to a safer spot. By the time we reached the highlands, we just waited for the storm to pass,” she said.

They sought refuge in Greenbrook Township, roughly three miles from their North Plainfield neighborhood, hoping for better safety. She felt they were perhaps the only ones from their block to leave.

By 9 PM, they attempted to return home, but the water rose to such heights that they couldn’t reach their car. It was around 10 PM when Delgado-Ramos’ husband and cousin tried to access their home on foot to assess the damage.

Then, around 11:30 PM, her husband called her with alarming news; their house was engulfed in flames. From their elevated location, she could do nothing but watch in helplessness.

“Thank goodness we didn’t go back. We had planned to return home for the night. The storm genuinely saved us,” she reflected, adding gratitude that it wasn’t her neighbors who faced the disaster while they were at home.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, while Delgado-Ramos is now faced with the next challenge of dealing with their insurance.

Though the cause remains undetermined, some neighbors reported noticing unpleasant odors in the area.

“It’s quite shocking, really. We spent a lot of the morning just trying to figure things out outside, but now we’re shopping for essentials and planning to spend the night with family,” she said.

One of her neighbors, Nicola Gibbs, was sitting on her porch when the explosion occurred.

“It was just around 11:20, and I was out here with my dog when the water started creeping up to my stairs. Suddenly, the roof just flew off,” she recalled, describing the moment that leveled Delgado-Ramos’s home.

“When the roof lifted, the whole house exploded below, and it was like the force of the explosion threw me and my dog back inside,” she described.

She could feel the heat from the fire and, fearing for the family’s safety, called the police and fire department, panicking and thinking they might still be inside the home.

“I just kept urging them to hurry. There’s a family trapped there. I was so frantic that I might not have made sense at all,” she added.

Delgado-Ramos and her family arrived about 45 minutes later, still in shock. “When I saw Lina, she was just devastated. I hugged her and reminded her that it was a blessing they were safe and out before everything happened,” she said, reflecting on their narrow escape from unthinkable tragedy.