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At least eight deaths were reported as heavy rain from Hurricane Ida battered New York City and New England early Thursday.
The rains caused floods and sent New York City into a state of emergency, as the storm carried into New England with threats of more tornadoes.
Police in New York City reported seven deaths, including a 50-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman and a 2-year-old boy who were found unconscious and unresponsive inside a home. They were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. One death was reported in New Jersey.
New York’s FDR Drive, a major artery on the east side of Manhattan, along with the Bronx River Parkway, were underwater by late Wednesday evening.
Subway stations and tracks were inundated to the point where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended all service, and videos posted online showed subway riders standing on seats in cars filled with water. Streets and apartments were under up to 1 meter (3 feet) of water in some places, and more than 5,000 homes were left without power.
The wrath of Hurricane Ida: New York announces its first-ever flash-flood emergency | DW News
‘Enduring Historic Weather Event’
“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted.
I’m declaring a state of emergency in New York City tonight.
We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) September 2, 2021
The alert marked the first-ever alert of flash-flood emergencies in the region, an alert level reserved for “exceedingly rare situations when a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from a flash flood is happening or will happen soon.”
Destructive Tornadoes
The city also implemented a temporary travel ban for all nonemergency vehicles. Earlier Wednesday, the storm hit states including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with at least two tornadoes, heavy winds and rains. Photos showed homes reduced to rubble, while the roof of a U.S. Postal Service building collapsed in New Jersey.
Highway 440 flooded in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sept. 2, 2021 with hundreds of cars stuck in water as Hurricane Ida left behind flash floods. Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The National Weather Service had predicted flooding from what remained of Hurricane Ida, saying steep terrain and even city streets were particularly vulnerable to a band of severe weather that stretched to Massachusetts, where tornado warnings were issued early Thursday.
Tropical Storm Henri hit the region a little more than a week ago, causing flooding and making the cities more vulnerable to this week’s set of weather events.
Our infrastructure is not ready for climate change, a thread from tonight. 28th St. subway station pic.twitter.com/uYemJKB8yg
— Brian Kahn (@blkahn) September 2, 2021
Reposted with permission from DW.