Lightning strikes city hall and pickup truck in Cape May County, NJ – NBC10 Philadelphia

In Cape May, New Jersey, lightning struck city hall and in nearby Lower Township, a man’s pickup truck caught fire as a storm rocked the area Friday morning.

The severe thunderstorm passed through Cape May around 8:20 a.m. Heavy rains flooded city streets and activated municipal flood pumps, which could not keep up with the flooding due to the heavy rains, officials said.

The storm also caused numerous lightning strikes throughout the region, hitting several buildings, including Cape May City Hall at 643 Washington Street.

“It sounded like a bomb went off,” said Brian Turner, Cape May’s deputy city clerk. “It was the loudest sound I’d ever heard. Just a really bright flash. And everything went out. Everything went out in the whole building.”

Lightning also struck a communications tower in front of Cape May City Hall, causing debris to fall into the parking lot below. Two public service employees were in a van next to the tower when the lightning struck, but were not injured.

The lightning strike also caused a power surge that damaged computers and the building’s electrical systems. The lightning also destroyed an emergency backup radio communications system.

Power problems continued when NBC10’s Ted Greenberg spoke with Cape May City Manager Paul Dietrich.

“Unfortunately, we have to remain closed for normal business operations because of the town hall,” said Dietrich, as the power suddenly went out during the interview. “And now we’re moving on. We’re still evaluating and testing everything.”

Cape May City Hall remains closed and authorities hope to reopen it by Monday, July 15.

During Friday morning’s storm, lightning also struck Peter Meehan’s pickup truck and a tree behind his home in Lower Township, New Jersey, just outside Cape May.

“There were two loud claps of thunder and I looked out the door and boom,” Meehan said. “Explosions again.”

Firefighters arrived at Meehan’s home and put out the flames. Meehan’s pickup truck was destroyed, but he knows it could have been much worse.

“The house shook. I mean, it was close,” Meehan said. “Another twenty yards and it would have hit the house.”

No injuries were reported from the lightning strikes. Officials said there were some power outages in Cape May and Atlantic City Electric workers were making repairs. Officials said several traffic lights in Cape May are not operating on their normal cycle. The Cape May Department of Highways is handling the problem.