On Wednesday, September 1, 2021, heavy rain from Tropical Storm Ida caused the Elizabeth River in New Jersey to overflow its banks. Elizabeth’s largest source of low-income housing, the Oakwood Plaza Apartment complex, adjacent to the river, was flooded with up to ten feet of water, trapping many residents in their ground-floor apartments. Four people were killed in the flooding and over 600 residents were displaced. (Cervenka, 2021; CBS News, 2021; Hirji, 2022).
The reported location of the four drowning deaths was 430 Irvington Avenue (Cervenka, 2021), but visual inspection of aerial photography suggests the location may have been slightly to the west at 380 Irvington Avenue, the current location of the Oakwood Plaza Revitalization complex (Map 1, pictured below). The Atlas of the Metropolitan District and adjacent country comprising the counties of New York, Kings, Richmond, Westchester and part of Queens in the state of New York, the County of Hudson and parts of the counties of Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Union in the state of New Jersey, published by Julius Bien & Co. in 1891, shows a historical water body in the same location as both sites (Map 2, pictured below).
Map 1. Reported location of Ida drowning deaths and current location of Oakwood Plaza Revitalization Complex.
Map 2. Reported location of Ida drowning deaths, current location of Oakwood Plaza Revitalization Complex, and historical water body.
As urban areas have developed in New Jersey, some ponds, streams, and wetlands have been covered, filled in, and developed over. The current locations of these historical water bodies may have the potential for flooding during heavy precipitation events. One of the main objectives of this project to create a dataset of historical water bodies in New Jersey is to show the location of water bodies altered by human development in relation to areas with a history of flooding. The existence of a historical water body in the same location as the Oakwood Plaza Apartment complex, where four people drowned during Tropical Storm Ida, suggests there may be a relationship between the two. Further investigation will be necessary to determine if this is the case.
References:
CBS News New York (2021, September 2) Ida In New Jersey: Four Residents of Complex Near Elizabeth River Killed by Floodwaters. CBS News New York. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/ida-in-new-jersey-4-residents-of-complex-near-elizabeth-river-killed-by-floodwaters/
Cervenka, S. (2021, September 2). Four people found dead in Elizabeth apartments after Ida flooding, official confirms. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/weather/flooding/2021/09/02/ida-death-toll-5-elizabeth-nj-oakwood-plaza-apartments/5695974001/
Hirji, Z. (2022, February 7). “I Have Nowhere To Go”: This Woman Lost Her New Jersey Apartment Due To Ida’s Flooding. Government Officials Just Evicted Her From Her Temporary Housing. Lataiyyah Washington is one of more than 600 people who lost their subsidized housing in Elizabeth, New Jersey, due to the storm. BuzzFeed.News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/ida-flooding-climate-change-elizabeth-new-jersey-housing