The city of Camden, in New Jersey, has been hit by severe flooding after an intense burst of rain overwhelmed its drainage system, prompting officials to activate the Emergency Operations Center and mount a large response. City leaders held a briefing to update residents, describing a fast-moving situation that left streets under water and crews stretched across the area.
According to officials, the trigger was an extraordinary amount of rain in a very short time. Around four inches of rainfall came down within a single hour, a volume that inundated the city's sewer system and caused widespread flooding. The sheer speed of the downpour left little time for the drainage network to cope before water began backing up across the city.
As the situation worsened, the city moved to activate its Emergency Operations Center, first partially and then fully as the scale became clear. Intersections and the entrances and exits leading out to highways and main routes were left flooded, forcing officials to reroute traffic and open up the full emergency response to manage the disruption.
The human demand for help was immediate. Officials said the city fielded between 80 and 90 calls in a single day, split between residents reporting flooding and people needing high-water rescues. Crews were sent out to carry out those rescues as needed, and were still working to deal with basement flooding as the briefing was held.
The city's fire chief described the rainfall as unprecedented, saying Camden had not experienced anything like it for quite some time. He said responders had been able to address many of the problems by handling them strategically, working through the most critical incidents first before moving on to those that could be reached later.
Officials also set out practical steps for those affected. Residents were urged to contact their property and flood insurance companies and to call the city's emergency management hotline, where inspectors would be sent to assess the damage. The city said it would carry out a preliminary damage assessment and, if a threshold was met, escalate the case to the state in an effort to secure FEMA reimbursements.
Beyond the immediate response, leaders appealed to the community to look out for one another. Neighbours were asked to check on the elderly, people with disabilities and even pets to make sure they were safe, and to help spread the emergency contact information. With cleanup already beginning, officials stressed that the priority remained the safety and living conditions of residents across Camden.