COLLEEN O’DEA / NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS – The official death toll in New Jersey from Tropical Storm Ida stands at 29. But that could rise as high as 30, as one person remains missing. That’s the most deaths suffered by any state after the Sept. 1 storm ripped through the region. And that total is second only to 2012’s Superstorm Sandy for storm deaths in New Jersey history.

But unlike Sandy, most of the deaths from Ida were caused by flash flooding. That’s a grim fact that some hope will serve as a warning for future storms …