Cape May City Hall closed for the day after building struck by lightning

CAPE MAY, NJ (CBS) – Cape May City Hall was closed for the day after the building was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm Friday morning, the city’s emergency management office said.

The Cape May Emergency Management Agency said a severe thunderstorm brought massive amounts of rain, flooding streets and activating city flood pumps. However, the rain was pouring down, and flood pumps were unable to keep up.

During the storm, the OEM said, “numerous lightning strikes across Cape Island” hit buildings, including City Hall.

The lightning strike caused significant damage to the municipal building, which is currently being investigated, OEM wrote in a press release on Friday afternoon.

Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock wrote on Facebook that the building’s FM antenna tower in particular had been hit.

OEM said City Hall will be closed for the rest of the day while the damage is assessed. It will reopen at 7:30 a.m. Monday.

No other buildings were damaged during the storm, but the city said there were a “limited number of power outages” in Cape May that Atlantic City Electric crews were working to resolve.

No injuries were reported as a result of the storm.

The Cape May County Highway Department is also repairing traffic lights that stopped working due to severe weather.