CAPE MAY – Lightning struck Cape May City Hall and several other buildings on Cape Island Friday morning, July 12, causing the closure of City Hall and the beaches, officials said.

The Cape May Office of Emergency Management issued a press release saying numerous lightning strikes throughout Cape Island hit several buildings, including Cape May City Hall. All Cape May emergency services were activated, including fire, police, OEM, fire police and the Department of Public Works.

No other city buildings were damaged, and no injuries were reported; however, there were a number of power outages in Cape May, requiring Atlantic City Electric crews to make repairs. Several traffic lights were not operating on their normal cycle, but were being worked on by the county roads department.

The OEM statement said that at approximately 8:20 a.m., the city experienced a severe thunderstorm that brought torrential rainfall, which flooded many city streets, activating municipal flood pumps. The OEM said the pumps were not able to keep up with the flooding due to the heavy rainfall.

The lighting strike at City Hall created damage; its extent was being assessed. The building was closed for the remainder of the day for the assessment and for repairs. It is scheduled to reopen on Monday, July 15, for normal business hours.

Beaches were to remain closed due to lightning in the area. Updates were to be posted on the city’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/capemaycity and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/capemaycity/.