NJ victims of Ida: Remembering residents killed in flash flooding – New Jersey 101.5 FM

As the Ida death toll in New Jersey continues to rise, with several people still missing, President Joe Biden has announced plans to tour part of the state.

Gov. Phil Murphy updated the number of fatalities due to violent flash flooding on Saturday to 27.

That included six people in Hunterdon County, five each in Union and Somerset County, four in Essex County, three in Middlesex County, two in Mercer County and 1 each in Passaic and Bergen County.

Biden would be visiting Manville on Tuesday, according to the White House.

Bridgewater and Raritan were holding a joint candle-lit vigil on Sunday evening in honor of all lives lost and hardships caused by the severe storm last week.

Communities have started to mourn the lives lost amid the devastating storm that swept over New Jersey and much of the East coast.

Hunterdon County Ida victims

Hunterdon County emergency management officials on Friday identified all six people who died there, including 25-year-old Jake Taylor of Flemington, 30-year-old Susan Hanna of Bridgewater, and 53-year-old Mark Pavol.

“The Hanna family has lived, worked, and gone to school in our community for many years,” according to a GoFundMe online fundraiser organized by Caroline Fryzel to help cover funeral costs, which also said that “Suzie” had just celebrated her birthday a weekend earlier.

Pavol was identified as a resident of the Ringoes section of East Amwell, while he was remembered on social media as a Manville community member who had just helped three women in the rising flood waters, before his own death.

Also among those killed in the storm in Hunterdon County were three men from Pennsylvania: 77-year-old Harold Koberlein of Telford, Preston Moody of Drexel Hill, and Barry Snyder of Upper Black Eddy — both Moody and Snyder were 68, according to county officials.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of these deaths. Our thoughts and prayers are with
the victims, their families and loved ones,” Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners Director Susan Soloway said in a written statement.

Union County Ida victims

An Elizabeth city spokeswoman confirmed to New Jersey 101.5 the identities of three family members and a neighbor who died in flooding in an apartment building: Jose Torres, 71, his wife Rosa Espinal, 72, son Jose Torres, 38, and neighbor Shakia Garrett, 33.

Middlesex County Ida victims

Sunanda Upadhye, 56, of the Iselin section of Woodbridge, was killed in the flooding and found Thursday morning near the Cooper Ave Park in Iselin, according to Woodbridge Police.

Upadhye had been reported missing by her husband when she failed to return home from work. She had tried to walk along Gill Lane, after it was made impassable by vehicle, police said.

An Edison man also has been as one of Middlesex County’s residents lost in the violent storm.

Dhanush Reddy, 31, was killed after being swept into a 36-inch storm sewer, according to a written release by South Plainfield Mayor Matthew Anesh. Reddy’s body was found in a wooded area behind Centennial Avenue in Piscataway, the mayor said.

Somerset County Ida victims

Cheryl Talke, 61, of the Belle Mead section of Montgomery, was killed as her vehicle was submerged in flooding at Route 206 and Mountainview Road in Hillsborough, as reported by Planet Princeton. 

Daphnee Francisca Lopez Del Bono, 30, of the Ringoes section of East Amwell township, also was found in a flooded out vehicle in Hillsborough, according to the same report.

Lopez Del Bono was an international student with Uceda Institute, according to a GoFundMe page setup on Thursday. The campaign donations were to be used for funeral costs and to fly her body back to her native Chile.

Essex County Ida victims

Aventino Soares, 58, of Bloomfield, also was recovered amid the deadly storm on Wednesday night, as reported by TapInto Bloomfield. Soares was found lying in water, holding an electrical cord, according to Bloomfield Police cited in the same report.

A Maplewood resident also was among those killed in the flooding, according to Maplewood Police. The man had been reported missing by his wife after he failed to return home to their Maple Terrace home — and his body was recovered from Ridgewood Road the following morning.

It was believed he was trying to clear debris from neighborhood storm drains when he was swept away in the water, police said.

Union County Ida victims

In Union County, an 83-year-old Union Township man drowned after getting out of a car that was stranded amid flooding, as reported by Patch. The man was found near Overlook Hospital’s Union Campus on Chestnut Street, according to the same report.

Passaic County Ida victims

Luis Jalil-Solarzario, 70, of Clifton, was killed in the flash flooding in Passaic, according to officials cited by NorthJersey.com. The same report said his wife and adult son were rescued by first responders as the car initially got stuck in about two feet of water.

Among those still missing as of Sunday, was a young man and woman, both from Passaic, according to the Daily Voice. 

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