New Jersey Mudslide Leaves Homes Uninhabitable

(TNS) – Rylee Canfield was suddenly awakened by the sound of rushing water outside her Warren County house at 4 a.m. Sunday.

She and her family live at the foot of a mountain in a rural stretch along Route 46 in Knowlton Township. A mudslide caused by weekend thunderstorms was starting to engulf their neighborhood.

”I looked out the window. It was pouring down into the street,” the 16-year-old Canfield recalled Monday morning as Gov. Phil Murphy and other officials toured the storm damage in the area. “It was almost to the front door.”

Her mother, Kelly Canfield, was still trying to process what happened to her home of 20 years. She said the area has suffered storm runoff before. One time, she said, her husband dug a trench to save their home from a similar flood. But it’s never like this, Canfield said.

One of their cars — slated to be her daughter’s first — was buried up to its windows in mud.

”I want to know what to do next,” she told Murphy at the scene. “My head is spinning. Any help is appreciated.”

The Canfields’ home was among several that were damaged in Warren County as thunderstorms caused heavy rain, flash floods, downed trees, power outages and road closures.

The state was drying out Monday as Murphy and other state and local officials visited Warren County to survey the damage. What they found was water still flowing down through the mountain at the mudslide site as several displaced families said they couldn’t access the main road because of the situation.

”I’d like to say I’m shocked beyond words,” Murphy told reporters while standing along mud-splotched residential Mansfield Street in Belvidere, a few miles from the mudslide. “But the fact of the matter is: I’ve seen this all too often in the past six years.”

“But that doesn’t make this tragedy any less powerful for the folks who have suffered.”

The storm caused damage in many areas across the Garden State, with Murphy declaring a state of emergency Sunday afternoon. Warren County was among the hardest hit.

“Incredible bravery and courage in these communities,” Murphy said.

Col. Patrick Callahan, the State Police superintendent, said there were no known injuries or deaths in that area or anywhere else in the state.

Still, at least 100 people in Warren County were displaced, said Warren County Commissioner Director Lori Ciesla. Residents stood along roads and driveways around Belvidere and Knowlton caked in thick mud. Rivers and creeks still had high water.

Ciesla said the area got more rain than it expected this weekend — up to 5 inches in an hour.

”It was as if someone turned out a fire hose,” she said. “It was insane.”

Ciesla said the issue was less nearby rivers and more creeks that overflowed.

“Sandy was not this bad,” she said of the famous 2012 hurricane that hit the state. “We don’t know how we’re going to rebuild without the help of the Army Corps of Engineers.

A section of Route 46 in Knowlton remains closed between Manunka Chunk Road/Upper Serapta Road and Route 519/Hope Bridgeville Road. Multiple local roads in the county remain closed.

The stretch of Route 46 where the landslide happened is situated under abandoned rail tunnels that are known to collect water, officials said, calling it a longstanding problem.

While there have been other mudslides there in the past, this was the “most extensive,” said state Sen. Doug Steinhardt, R-Warren, a lifetime resident of the county.

”I have never experienced this level of infrastructure damage,” Steinhardt said.

Kelly Canfield said the basement and first floor of her home suffered severe water and mud damage, and some was beginning to seep into the second floor.

”We can’t live in that home,” Canfield told Murphy. “That is unsafe.”

They managed to rescue their two cats and four guinea pigs from the house.

Murphy told NJ Advance Media the sight of water still rushing down the mountain 24 hours later “take my breath away.”

“We’re going to do everything we can to help them,” he said of the residents.

Jeffrey Evans, who has lived along that stretch of Route 46 since 1986, said it “should have never happened” because the problem with the tunnels should have been fixed by now. He said the water comes from nearby Beaver Brook.

Murphy — who was joined by U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-7th District, as well as several state lawmakers and local officials — said the issue with the tunnels needs to be addressed.

He also suggested damage like this will keep happening as the world faces climate change, saying officials keep hearing the same story about unprecedented damage.

”We all fear that’s the new norm,” the Democratic governor said.

Murphy called on residents to document any money they spend on recovery and repairs, saying the state and federal government could help with aid, though he said he couldn’t promise anything.

”To the residents: We’re gonna be with you until we get through this,” he said.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Jeff Goldman and LehighValley.Live.com staff writer Sarah Cassi contributed to this report.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.

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