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BJ's Wholesale Club in front of a thunderstorm
The Northeast dealt with some brutal temperatures during the 4th of July weekend before things cooled down with the help of the heavy rain that swept across the region. Those storms managed to do some damage, which was certainly the case at a BJ’s Wholesale Club in New Jersey that needs a new roof in the wake of an incident where it’s hard to believe no one was hurt.
If you were in the eastern half of the United States for Independence Day, you are likely all too aware that a massive heat dome caused temperatures to skyrocket to record highs while putting a damper on many of the festivities that were scheduled for America’s 250th birthday.
There was thankfully a respite as the end of the weekend rolled around, as storms swept across the East Coast on Sunday while bringing the heat wave to a merciful end. However, that fierce weather also managed to cause some issues of its own in the form of flooding and power outages, and that was also the case with the downpours that continued to unfold on Monday.
New Jersey experienced all of those weather events in full force, and it was also the site of one of the wilder scenes to come out of that stretch.
Two people were briefly trapped after the roof of a BJ’s Wholesale Club in New Jersey collapsed due to heavy rain
New Jersey sadly reported 25 heat-related deaths linked to the days-long hot spell, and there was at least one additional fatality linked to a tree limb that fell when the ensuing storms rolled through the state.
It is a borderline miracle that there were not only no deaths but also no reported injuries at a BJ’s Wholesale Club in Ocean Township on Monday, as a surveillance video inside the store captured the moment rain caused its roof to cave in over the bakery section as shoppers scrambled for cover.
WILD FOOTAGE: Security camera footage captures the moment the roof collapsed inside a BJ’s Wholesale store in New Jersey. No injuries were reported. https://t.co/RB6EDbp6tD pic.twitter.com/nIqfm9N1hg
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 6, 2026
According to NBC News, police said they received a call about the collapse at around 11:15 on Monday morning and stated there were 27 people inside at the time (including one man who filmed the aftermath while wading through multiple inches of water).
New video from inside the BJ’s building in Oakhurst, Jersey shows the extent of the damage caused by the building collapse and subsequent flooding.
There were 27 people inside the building at the time, and two were trapped by were able to free themselves, according to Ocean… pic.twitter.com/WiQHGYxSit
— Shlomo Schorr (@OneJerseySchorr) July 6, 2026
A spokesperson for the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office added a couple of people “were partially entrapped but were able to free themselves and safely exit the structure,” and they walked away unscathed along with every other person who was inside when the roof gave in.