Roof collapses at Jersey Shore BJ’s, shoppers reportedly trapped as storms hammer area

🚨A section of the roof at BJ's Wholesale collapsed on Monday morning

🚨A gas line was also damaged

🚨Route 35 was flooded out and described as "extremely dangerous"

OCEAN TOWNSHIP (Monmouth) — A section of the roof at BJ's Wholesale Club collapsed on Monday morning as heavy rain drenched a section of Monmouth County.

Security video posted by @OneJerseySchorr on X shows three people in the bakery section of the store on Route 35 at West Park Avenue in Ocean Township around 11:15 a.m., according to Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden.

The camera shakes as the roof falls in, sending two of the individuals running out of the way. A third person manages to get away as a wall of water falls with enough force to push several wooden display tables away. More than two dozen people were inside at the time, but all everyone made it out safely.

The Lakewood Scoop, which was first to report the collapse,  estimates the size of the 50-foot section. A gas main was also broken by the collapse, according to the Scoop.

ALSO READ: Whale sinks NJ fire department boat in Raritan Bay

'Extremely dangerous' conditions

The collapse came as a  Flash Flood Warning was in effect for Monmouth County as thunderstorms produced heavy rain with an accumulation of 1-3 inches, according to New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow. The Monmouth County Sheriff's Office said  Route 35 is "extremely dangerous" to travel and should be avoided.

Route 35 near the BJ's appeared to have high water and was flooded, according to a photo posted by the Sheriff's Office.

"Alarm bells for heavy rain and flooding were in the forecast Monday - it was just a matter of where and when downpours would set up," Zarrow said. "Radar estimates that upwards of 7" of rain fell over that tiny corridor of Monmouth County, at up to 3" per hour. While radar tends to overestimate such heavy rainfall, that represents a huge deluge of water falling from the sky."

ALSO READ: Where is Gov. Sherrill? NJ power outage stretches into Day 3

Inside BJ's Wholesale Club in Ocean Township after a roof collapse

Flooding on Route 35 in Ocean Township Monday, July 6. 2026

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom