Friday's Flooding In Hoboken Was Another '50-Year Storm': Mayor

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla's office said Saturday night that the rainstorm that flooded parts of Hoboken on Friday evening was considered yet another "50-year storm" — similar to two that flooded the city in July 2020. Theoretically, they should only happen once every 50 years.

The city of Hoboken and Hudson County Office of Emergency Management had warned residents of a flash flooding threat in the area Thursday and Friday, and were proven right, as photos from residents around the internet can attest.

"@ravibhalla The street is flooded with sewage water. Again," wrote a resident on Twitter Friday at 8:10 p.m. "I step out on my balcony and the smell of human waste wafts up. I can't leave my building without wading through poop water. Mr. Mayor, how can this keep happening?"

Last July, Hoboken suffered two "50-year storms." Theoretically, there's a 2 percent chance of such a storm in a given year. READ MORE: Hoboken Floods From Second '50-Year Storm' In Two Weeks'

Such extreme storms are becoming more frequent, scientists say. In fact, the current Hurricane Elsa — now slated to arrive in New Jersey as Tropical Storm Elsa on Thursday night — is the earliest E-named storm in modern weather history.

Follow the track of Elsa via the National Hurricane Center here.

On Saturday night, mayoral spokesman Vijay Chaudhury wrote in response to questions from the press:

"Yesterday’s heavy rain event produced 1.67 inches of rain in two hours, with the peak 15-minute interval of the storm with a rate of 1.96 inches of rain per hour, the equivalent intensity as Tropical Storm Fay in 2020. Yesterday’s storm was measured as greater than a 50-year event, which is the equivalent of a storm that has a 2 percent chance of happening in any year.

"Both flood pumps were working throughout the storm and pumped out several million gallons of water, helping the water recede at a quicker rate than had they not been operational. Both the Southwest Resiliency Park and 7th and Jackson Resiliency Park stored water to the maximum capacity underground in detention systems.

"The Hoboken Department of Environmental Services and Hoboken Fire Department have been power washing affected streets and sidewalks since the morning and will continue to do so throughout the day."

He referred to last year's explanation from Mayor Ravi Bhalla. At the time, Bhalla said, "Yesterday, Hoboken experienced its second major flooding event in under two weeks, following Tropical Storm Fay on July 10. ...the rate of rain yesterday (two inches in just two and a half hours) was far greater than capacity of the sewers flowing to the pumps, resulting in the back-up of rain from the sewers into the streets. While the pumps continued to pump several million gallons of water from our streets during and after the rainfall ended, the sheer volume of rain resulted in flooding in certain areas that don't normally flood..."

Read more of the mayor's explanation here.

In May, workers began the first phase of a massive federal anti-flooding project in Hoboken. READ MORE: Gov. Murphy Kicks Off First Step In Hoboken Anti-Flooding Program

Hoboken issued this guidance on Thursday afternoon, including a list of streets that sometimes flood:

The Hoboken Office of Emergency Management is taking precautions by putting no parking signs ("No Parking Signs" in these areas should be taken as advisories, cars will not be towed) or barricades near flood prone intersections. Please do not drive around barricades. These intersections include:

• 1st and Marshall
• 1st and Harrison
• 2nd and Harrison
• 3rd and Harrison
• 4th and Harrison
• 4th and Monroe
• 3rd and Jackson
• 4th and Jackson
• 9th and Monroe
• 9th and Madison
• 10th and Madison
• 1st and Clinton
• 3rd and Clinton
• Henderson and Newark
• Grove and Newark

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