Official: Heavy rain causes roof collapse at Newark building; 64 residents displaced
When the rain started pouring in from the roof and washing down the stairs at around 7 p.m. Sunday, tenants were forced to evacuate.
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Officials say flooding from Sunday’s torrential rainfall poured into a Newark apartment complex, causing a partial roof collapse that forced families to evacuate the building.
The 64 tenants of the complex at North Ninth Street and Park Avenue are still waiting for an update on repairs and news on when they may be allowed back home.
News 12 New Jersey found the families gathered together at the front door of this building on Monday in the heat of the day.
When the rain started pouring in from the roof and washing down the stairs at around 7 p.m. Sunday, tenants were forced to evacuate. Firefighters were banging on and in some cases breaking down doors. Some tenants ran out without identification and their pets.
Oscar Valdez lives inside with his wife and three children.
“You can’t even hear other people talk, it was so much water coming down. It was crazy,” Valdez said. "It was just water coming down from the roof and pouring clearly down the stairs like a river. And then you can see the sheetrock falling apart as well."
Their frustrations grew when after evacuating, they were taken by bus to a hotel under the belief that Boomers Management, the apartment management company, was paying for their stay. But residents told News 12 that they were told this wasn’t the case when they arrived at the hotel, so they left.
They are now waiting for an update on the repairs or at least the chance to recover belongings and clothes.
Marisol Thompson and her two daughters aren't sure where they'll be Monday night.
“We are not being told anything. They’re not saying anything. We’ve been calling since this morning trying to figure it out,” Thompson said.
Tenants have informed News 12 that the building’s owner is trying to make available hotel rooms for Monday evening. Until then, the Red Cross has put up a shelter at the First Avenue School.
So far, four families are using it, and more are expected.
“They can come here for a meal, for shelter, to charge their phones whatever they need,” said Sara Huisking, of the American Red Cross.
News 12 has reached out to Boomer’s Management for a comment on the extent of repairs that need to be made to the building but has not yet received a response.
