Newark airport flooded: Flights delayed, canceled

NEWARK — Ida's remnants caused turmoil even at Newark Liberty International Airport, where storm waters flooded a terminal building on Wednesday.

All of the airport's parking lots were closed and NJ Transit and Amtrak service was suspended.

Newark airport resumed limited service just before midnight although most flights remained canceled or delayed. The airport encouraged passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information.

Videos from the airport showed escalators descending into deep water.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after catastrophic flooding and wind pummeled opposite corners of the state. Tornadoes tore apart an entire neighborhood in South Jersey and waters trapped people in cars and stranded many more as commutes that should have lasted minutes stretched into hours without end.

While the storm had been forecast for days, it seemed to catch much of New Jersey off guard — especially the flooding caused by rain that fell on an already-drenched state.

From Lambertville to Ewing to Cranford to Hillside to Belleville to Jersey City, town after town in Central and North Jersey found at least some of its roads blocked by standing water, overflowing streams or fallen trees and power lines.

The storm on Wednesday claimed at least one life: Passaic Mayor Hector Lora told NJ.com that rescuers were unable to reach the body of a victim because of flood water.

Scenes were even more devastating elsewhere in the state.

In Millburn and Clifton, it looked like the downtown's main drags had been replaced by raging rivers.

In the Mullica Hill section of Harrison Township, a tornado that New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow described as "massive" appears to have torn apart several homes in a single neighborhood. The storm damaged at least a hundred homes and sent at least one person to the hospital, Mayor Lou Manzo told New Jersey 101.5.

Cranford, along the Rahway River, opened a shelter for residents flooded from their homes. In Trenton, meanwhile, authorities went door to door to clear our residents as the Delaware River swelled to dangerous levels.