Manville players stand for the national anthem following a pregame moment of silence. After devastating flooding from Hurricane Ida rocked their town, Manville got back to some sense of normalcy on Friday, September 10, 2021. Manville won, 48-6. Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comAndrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Pat Gorbatuk couldn’t believe what had become of his quaint, two-and-a-half-square mile hometown of Manville, the picture of suburban tranquility now transformed into a disaster area. Brown floodwaters raged through the roads, swallowing cars, overtaking buildings and damaging more than 1,200 of the 3,500 homes in town. Men in canoes paddled through the streets, rescuing neighbors from 15-foot waters. The stench of smoke, gas and sewage filled the air.

The date was Sept. 17, 1999, after Hurricane Floyd knifed through New Jersey and eviscerated Manville. Some officials called it a “100-year storm.”

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