Toddler among at least 8 dead as Ida hits New York and New Jersey with record rains and floods



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At least eight people were killed while the remains of Hurricane Ida hit New York and New Jersey with tornadoes, record rains and flooding that left the region flooded and under a state of emergency Thursday.

Videos on social media showed submerged cars on freeways and water pouring into subway stations and homes after a wind-driven downpour broke rainfall records and caused an emergency. unprecedented flood for New York City.

Three men, three women and a 2-year-old boy have died in four separate floods in the city, police said. In Passaic, New Jersey, firefighters recovered a body from a vehicle that fell underwater when taken in flood waters near the Passaic River, said the city’s mayor.


Latest updates on Ida:

  • The remains of Hurricane Ida brought dangerous flooding, record rains and tornadoes to New York and New Jersey.
  • The death toll in the area stands at 8 and includes a 2-year-old boy.
  • Central Park saw over 3 inches of rain in an hour, the most it had ever recorded in an hour.
  • New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergency due to inclement weather.
  • Amtrak morning service between Philadelphia and Boston has been suspended.
  • Ida’s rush had an impact on play at the US Open.

“We are experiencing a historic weather event tonight with record rains across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted.

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At New York, officials urged non-emergency vehicles should not be used on the streets after the end of a “travel ban” at 5 am ET.

A spectator walks through the flooded pavilion in front of Louis Armstrong Stadium on day three of the 2021 US Open tennis tournament.Danielle Parhizkaran / Reuters

Central Park and Newark each saw more than 3 inches of rain in an hour, the National Weather Service said. That’s the highest number ever recorded in an hour-long period at both locations, NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins said. Between 6 and 10 inches of rain fell over several hours, the weather service said, and city streets were flooded with water.

Weather conditions and flooding nearly brought New York City transit to a standstill, with service suspended or severely limited throughout the subway.

A rare tornado warning was issued for the Bronx and parts of Westchester on Wednesday evening, as flights to LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty airports were disrupted.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency, which allows state aid.

Heavy flooding in Newark, NJ on September 1, 2021.Courtesy of Nick Kurczewski

The governor of New Jersey has also declared a state of emergency due to the inclement weather. “Stay off the roads, stay home and stay safe,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

The mayor of Passaic, Hector C. Lora, has declared a state of emergency, one of many cities in the region to do so. He broadcast the scene live as cars submerged to their headlights in a flooded section of the city of about 70,000 people. Some cars were hit in the middle of the street.

Passaic Deputy Police Chief Louis Gentile said all kinds of vehicles were stuck and warned residents not to be fooled into thinking they have a powerful car.

“We have stuck fire trucks, we have stuck ambulances, we have people who are still stuck and not coming out of the water,” he said. “It is very serious.”

At least one tornado has hit Mullica Hill, New Jersey, forecasters say. At least nine houses have been destroyed, NBC Philadelphia reported. Damage has been reported in southeastern Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Johnson said, but investigative teams will need to confirm if it was more tornadoes. .

New Jersey Transit suspended all train services Wednesday night and Thursday, while Amtrak suspended all trains between Philadelphia and Boston before 9 a.m. Thursday.

Torrential rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida prompted the evacuation of thousands on Wednesday after water reached dangerous levels at a dam near Johnstown, a Pennsylvania town known as Flood City.

Some areas near Johnstown, whose history includes several fatal floods, saw 5 inches or more of rain by mid-afternoon, a flood that triggered an evacuation order for people downstream of the Wilmore Dam .

Cambria County Emergency Management Director and 911 Center Chief Art Martynuska said the water level at Wilmore Dam had reached a height requiring evacuation.

The nearby Hinckston Run Dam was also monitored but appeared stable in the late afternoon, he said, when water levels at Wilmore Dam were dropping.

Gov. Tom Wolf said he was sending emergency responders to Bucks County, including National Guard ocean going vehicles and an urban search and rescue team, to southeastern Pennsylvania. as a result of tornadoes and floods.

Johnson, of the Weather Services office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, which also covers Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, said there had been reports of up to 7 inches of rain on Wednesday.

In Maryland, a 19-year-old man died after flooding that displaced 150 people from a building Wednesday morning, said the police. There was also a suspected tornado that caused damage in Annapolis.

The severe weather occurred as post-tropical Cyclone Ida, which hit Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, caused heavy precipitation in the region.

The hurricane and its remains cut power to hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana and beyond and the storm is now believed to be a factor in more than a dozen deaths.

The Associated Press, Tom Winter, Colin Sheeley and Wilson Wong contributed.



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