HARRISON TWP, N.J. - Harrison Township Fire Chief Matthew Cardile remembers exactly where he was when the powerful remnants of Hurricane Ida put his town in the crosshairs of a EF-3 tornado. "I never thought in 28 years of doing this business that I would see something like this," Cardile told FOX 29's Jennifer Joyce. "This is like something you see in the movies." Cardile captured the devastating scene from afar, recording the twister with 150 MPH winds and heavy rain as it bowled over a quiet community in Mullica Hill.
He and other first responders immediately jumped into action to help victims who bore the brunt of the damage. The remnants of Hurricane Ida plowed over the Delaware Valley in late August of 2021.
A year later, those who live in areas hit the hardest are still picking up the pieces from the life changing storms."We saw the first house on Josephine Drive that was damaged, completely devastated to the ground," Cardile recalled. "When I turned the corner in that development and saw what I saw, I took a deep breath and was like ‘OK, it’s time'."Homes that once stood tall and thoughtfully spaced out were ripped apart and scattered throughout the development.
All told, more than 100 homes were damaged and 39 were considered total losses across Harrison Township. Thursday marks one year since Category 4 Hurricane Ida caused devastation and damage throughout the Delaware Valley as it moved across the East Coast.