Roof torn off Camden apartment building during storm

Monday, April 15, 2019
CAMDEN, N.J. (WPVI) -- The roof of a Camden apartment building was torn off in the severe storms Monday morning.

It happened around 5 a.m. on the 2000 block of South 8th Street at building 'D' of the All American Gardens Apartments.
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Heavy wind and rain quickly came through the area, causing the damage.

Lewis Barnes said he heard a terrifying noise.

"It sounded like a train coming through there," he said.

Twenty families are now displaced.



Jenn Lee placed buckets around her apartment before she realized the scoop of what happened.
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She told us, "The whole inside of my apartment was raining in the inside. So, I couldn't do anything but cry."

Heavy wind and rain had been passing through the area before 5 a.m.

Barnes had been watching tv and described, "Water started leaking from everywhere all over the house- walls and everything- and the ceiling just started to collapse."

The flying roof snapped nearby electrical wires, leaving one smoking in the street.

One resident was taken to the hospital with a contusion after being hit by debris but everyone was able to evacuate.
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Jerome Cannon said he woke up to ceiling debris falling on his head and a firefighter knocking, "Fireman banging on everybody's door: Boom, boom, boom-- everybody get out. The roof is collapsing."

Roof blown off of Camden apartment building following storm


A bus arrived to take residents to a nearby community center. The Red Cross is offering assistance.



Mayor Frank Moran came to see the damage for himself.

He said, "Just doing a little research with our code enforcement. The roof was ok, just severe straight-line winds that blew through and affected these apartments."

There's no word yet on when these residents will be able to return home.
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