New Jersey flags at half-staff to honor Tropical Storm Ida victims

On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order that U.S. and state flags at all state buildings facilities be flown at half-staff to honor the 27 people who died and the four who remain missing after Tropical Storm Ida.

“Tropical Storm Ida has brought significant loss and devastation to our great state,” Murphy said. “It is with immense sadness that we mourn the loss of all those who perished, and those who remain missing, in the wake of this historic storm. We vow to honor and remember each one of them as part of our New Jersey family.”

Tropical Storm Ida, the remnant of Hurricane Ida which swept through Louisiana and other parts of the Gulf Coast, reached New Jersey on Wednesday, Sept. 1, causing high winds, tornadoes, and heavy, sustained rainfall which resulted in severe flooding in several counties of the Garden State.

One tornado destroyed several houses in the Mullica Hill section of Gloucester County.

Over 90,000 households in New Jersey were without power during the storm, and tens of thousands remained without power even after it subsided.

Murphy declared a state of emergency on the evening of Sept. 1, which was followed by a declaration from President Joe Biden the next day. On Sunday, Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Bergen, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Passaic, and Somerset counties.

“Every part of the country, every part of the country is getting hit by extreme weather,” Biden said while visiting Somerset County emergency management training center to survey the damage. “We can’t turn it back very much, but we can prevent it from getting worse.”

The flags will remain at half-staff through Friday.