House explodes overnight in North Plainfield, NJ after flash flooding

NORTH PLAINFIELD, New Jersey (WABC) -- A house exploded overnight in the flood zone in North Plainfield, New Jersey, due to an apparent gas leak.

Police say the house on Parkview Avenue caught fire and exploded just before 11:25 p.m. Monday after a gas line erupted.

One of the owners of the home told Eyewitness News he is thankful his family is safe, but the home has been ripped to shreds.

Firefighters arrived to a fully involved fire, with up to four residents unaccounted for.

The residents were located soon after they apparently had already evacuated the flooding and no injuries were reported.

Three other homes on Sweetbriar Lane are being evaluated for possible issues with their foundations from the flooding.

Additionally, police say 35-50 vehicles were either flooded or washed away in North Plainfield during the storm.

Residents didn't think a storm of this magnitude would happen again so soon after Ida in 2021.

"Two times in four years. It's like, all right, I'm over it," said homeowner Robert Aldred.

Aldred was at work Monday night while his wife Amanda was home with their children, watching as three shipping containers came flying by.

The rising water was one thing, but these were huge projectiles that nearly smashed into their home.

"And so that's when it was like, OK, I've got about 15 minutes and then I have to call evac," Amanda Aldred said. "But then I guess the water was so powerful that it moved the container down the road."

The containers landed in another yard. Neighbors told Eyewitness News they were being used as storage units for the North Plainfield Middle School up the road, for items like athletic and musical equipment used by the school's teams and band.