Rockslide crushes luxury cars in North Bergen, NJ parking lot

💧The rockslide happened as heavy rain fell Sunday night and Monday morning

💧Heavy equipment was still removing rocks Tuesday morning

💧A fence was put in place after a September rockslide failed

NORTH BERGEN — Several luxury vehicles parked in an apartment building parking lot were crushed by rocks in a mudslide caused by heavy rain Sunday night.

Residents of the Dutchess apartment building on River Road in North Bergen woke Monday to find a Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, and a BMW, among others, damaged by rocks and dirt that slid down the hillside in back of the building, according to NBC 4 New York.

Video showed heavy equipment continuing to remove rocks and dirt from the parking lot Tuesday morning.

A resident told ABC 7 Eyewitness News he heard rocks first falling around 9 p.m. Sunday night and a louder crash around 2 a.m.

Another resident told News 12 New Jersey she was in a deep sleep around 3 a.m. when she felt the building shake and saw muddy water coming down the hill.

Not the first time

A similar rockslide happened in September and building management installed a fence and retaining wall to prevent a second occurrence. Some residents told News 12 they are considering whether or not they will renew their leases.

New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said South Jersey and Jersey Shore areas had the heaviest rainfall from the storm. Atlantic, Burlington, and Camden counties picked up two to three inches of rain. Deerfield in Cumberland County had over four inches of rainfall.

"While North Jersey was not the wettest corner in the state earlier this week, nearby weather stations in Jersey City and Lyndhurst picked up rainfall totals of 1.64" and 1.49," respectively. That is a lot of water to fall from the sky in less than 24 hours," Zarrow said.

Post Brothers Commercial Real Estate, which manages the building, on Tuesday morning did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for more information.

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