--- title: "New Jersey So Flooded That a Shark Was Spotted Swimming Through a Suburban Neighborhood" description: "With the nor'easter battering the east coast, the flooded streets of a New Jersey town was visited by a shark." date: "2026-09-30" modified: "2026-09-30" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore.md" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/new-jersey-flood-shark" categories: - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" --- # New Jersey So Flooded That a Shark Was Spotted Swimming Through a Suburban Neighborhood ![A shark fin sticking out of the water.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* A shark has been spotted wandering the streets of New Jersey. And it ain't here [for the vig](), either. With the [powerful nor'easter storm]() battering the Eastern Seaboard over the weekend, floodwaters have poured into the perhaps unfortunately named town of Surf City, turning its suburban streets into aquatic thoroughfares. Marine traffic obliged. In a [viral video]() taken Saturday by a local resident, a shark — as in the fish, not the mobsters who enforce usurious loans— is seen swimming through the town like it owns the place. The shark's dorsal fin, in cinematic fashion, even breaks through the surface of the water. "Is that a little shark?" one person can be heard saying, almost in disbelief. "It's coming this way!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTXzfdhAeB4 Fortunately, this is almost certainly no man-eater. According to Greg Skomal, a white shark researcher with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the shark in the video appears to be a smooth dogfish — "which is a very small, harmless shark that is common in those waters," he [told *ABC News*](). After patrolling the resident's driveway, the shark [reportedly]() started swimming toward Barnegat Bay, according to *ABC*, seemingly content with making its presence known. A snowless nor'easter over the weekend has ravaged parts of the east coast, with New Jersey and New York among the hardest hit states, where both governors have declared states of emergency for specific locales. Strong winds exceeding 60 miles per hour knocked trees over, killing a 56-year-old man in Brooklyn. Flooding was reported all over New Jersey, seeping into resident's homes. On the more lighthearted side of things, many an opportunistic kayaker has pounced on the chance to traverse their towns on narrow boats. An entire 19th century shipwreck was even [unearthed]() by the storm. And now sharks, apparently, are enjoying the sightseeing occasion of a lifetime. **More on environment:** [*World Braces for Nearly a Half Million El Niño Deaths*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()