Technology and Science · updated 2h ago · 2 min read
Nor’easter Floods Surf City, New Jersey, As Residents Film Shark Swimming Streets
Shark filmed swimming in flooded streets of Surf City, New Jersey, amid violent nor'easter. Power outages reportedly affected over 130,000 homes.
Whether the animal’s species is confirmed or treated as uncertain.
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The New York Post emphasises expert identification as a harmless dogfish, while the Daily Star sensationalises it as “baby shark” and raises hoax doubts.
Shark in Surf City
A violent nor’easter flooded Surf City, New Jersey, and residents filmed a shark swimming in the streets as floodwater rose.
“Is that a small shark? Oh my God, it’s coming toward us.”
A woman in the video exclaimed, "Is that a small shark? Oh my God, it’s coming toward us," as the animal moved through the flooded neighborhood.
Dr. Grieg Skumal told ABC that the fish was "a very small, non-threatening shark, and common in those waters," while the storm surge pushed water toward Barnigat Bay.
Residents said the shark was seen swimming down a hallway in a house before making its way toward Barnigat Bay, as floodwaters in Surf City rose to about four feet.
The storm also brought travel and power disruption, with the incident unfolding as more than 400 flights were canceled and power outages affected more than 100,000 homes and businesses in several states.
Storm scale and warnings
The storm battered the East Coast of the United States with wind gusts reaching up to 70 km/h and torrential rains that left one person dead in New York after a tree fell in the Brooklyn neighborhood. The storm left about 130,000 homes without power at the peak of its passage, and Flight Aware reported that Boston’s airport was the most affected. The federal meteorological agency warned that Monday carried a "risk of moderate to heavy rainfall" in part of the Northeast United States.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to exercise caution, and he asked them to limit travel to the bare essentials. The National Weather Service said the storm would bring coastal flooding, rip currents, strong wind gusts, and heavy rain to the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions through Monday (September 28).
Identification dispute and stakes
News 12 described the Surf City footage as a "possible shark sighting," while local officials emphasized that storm conditions posed the real danger and urged residents to stay away from floodwaters. ABC News identified the animal more precisely as a hammerhead shark, also called aiguillat in French, while other coverage described it as a dogfish shark or a smooth shark. Le HuffPost said the shark measured between 80 and 100 centimeters in length and described it as relatively harmless to humans, even as the footage showed only the animal’s fin emerging from the street.
The Source Magazine said the shark’s species had not been confirmed, and it kept the identification open while the water itself remained the urgent problem for residents. TNew Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency in eight counties as officials warned residents to stay clear of flooded routes.