The remnants of Hurricane Ida inundated large swaths of the northeastern U.S. with historic and unanticipated fury Wednesday night, killing at least 18 people in flooding in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as basement apartments suddenly filled with water, rivers and creeks swelled to record levels and roadways turned into car-swallowing canals.
The storm killed at least 18 people from Maryland to New York on Wednesday night as basement apartments suddenly filled with water, rivers and creeks swelled to record levels and roadways turned into car-swallowing canals.
Nine people died in New York City, many when they became trapped in flooded basements, police and Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Among the victims were a family that included a 50-year-old man, 48-year-old woman and 2-year-old child who were pronounced dead after their basement apartment in Woodside flooded. An 86-year-old woman was also found dead inside her basement apartment in Elmhurst.
Other victims include a 48-year-old woman in Forest Hills, a 43-year-old woman and her 22-year-old son in Jamaica and a 66-year-old man in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pledged Wednesday that “we will do everything we can to get all of the federal aid that’s needed,” noting that he has spoken to FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell about the storm.
“She knows New York well,” the New York Democrat said of Criswell, who previously served as the commissioner of NYC Emergency Management.
“Global warming is upon us and its going to get worse and worse and worse unless we do something about it,” Schumer said. “That’s why its so imperative to pass the two bills: the infrastructure bill and the reconciliation bill.”
Four people were found dead in an apartment complex in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the city’s mayor and spokesperson told local media, correcting an earlier report of five.
One other person died in an accident on the Garden State Parkway, police said.
Another death was reported in Passaic, New Jersey. Mayor Hector Lora said a 70-year-old man was swept away.
“His family was rescued, they were all in the same car. Unfortunately, the car was overtaken by the waters, and the firefighters who were being dragged down under the vehicle were unable to get him out,” Lora told WCBS-TV.
Officials outside of Philadelphia reported “multiple fatalities,” saying no additional details were immediately available.
Major flooding along the Schuylkill River swamped highways, submerged cars and disrupted commuter rail service in the Philadelphia area. In a tweet, city officials predicted “historic flooding” on Thursday as river levels continue to rise.
“Philadelphia is experiencing historic flooding levels,” the city’s mayor Jim Kenney wrote on Twitter Thursday. “Please be safe, and if you must travel this morning, use extra caution. Never drive, bike, or walk through flooded roadways.”
The rain was so intense that the National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Emergency for the first time in New York City history. A Flash Flood Emergency is a more serious warning than even a Flash Flood Warning. When a Flash Flood Emergency is issued for an area, people are advised to immediately move to higher ground and to avoid walking or driving through floodwaters.
There are many reports of flooding in the city, and radar estimates show nearly 10 inches of rain fell in central Staten Island. Park Slope has also seen many flooding reports. A preliminary report from the National Weather Service found that 5.2 inches of rain fell in Central Park in a three-hour span at one point in the night, which would make this a once-in-500-years weather event.
New York’s FDR Drive, a major artery on the east side of Manhattan, and the Bronx River Parkway were beseiged by severe flooding late Wednesday evening. Subway stations and tracks became so flooded that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended all service. Videos posted online showed subway riders standing on seats in cars filled with water.
“It’s going to take until later in the day to have truly operational subway service,” Janno Lieber, acting chair and CEO of the MTA, told Spectrum News.
Other videos showed vehicles submerged up to their windows on major roadways in and around the city and garbage bobbing down the streets.
“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 said while declaring a state of emergency in New York City late Wednesday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also declared a state of emergency for several counties in New York, including the city and surrounding areas on Long Island and in Westchester.
New York City put in place a travel ban until 5 a.m. ET Thursday for all non-emergency vehicles, and a travel advisory was in effect after it expired. All non-emergency vehicles were advised to stay off of streets and highways.
The National Weather Service recorded 3.15 inches of rain in New York’s Central Park in one hour Wednesday night, far surpassing the 1.94 inches that fell in one hour during Tropical Storm Henri on the night of Aug. 21, which was believed at the time to be the most ever recorded in the park.
Heavy winds and drenching rains collapsed the roof of a U.S. Postal Service building in New Jersey and threatened to overrun a dam in Pennsylvania.
Social media posts showed homes reduced to rubble in a southern New Jersey county just outside Philadelphia, not far from where the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado Wednesday evening. Authorities did not have any immediate information on injuries.
The roof collapsed at the Postal Service building in Kearny, New Jersey, with people inside, police Sgt. Chris Levchak said. Rescue crews were on scene into the night, with no immediate word on the number of people or severity of injuries.
Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in all of New Jersey’s 21 counties, urging people to stay off the flooded roads. Meteorologists warned that rivers likely won’t crest for a few more days, raising the possibility of more widespread flooding.
“There’s a lot of hurt right now in New Jersey,” Murphy told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday. “We’re gonna be there for folks. It’s gonna be a long road to recovery but we’re gonna be there with them.”
“This is just yet another reminder: These things are coming more frequently, they’re more intense, sadly more deadly and we’ve got to update our playbook,” Murphy added, saying that the Garden State is “probably the most exposed state in the country to climate change.”
At least one death was reported in the state as floodwaters rushed through city streets, trapping motorists. Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said a 70-year-old man was swept away.
“His family was rescued, they were all in the same car. Unfortunately, the car was overtaken by the waters, and the firefighters who were being dragged down under the vehicle were unable to get him out,” Lora told CBS New York.
Authorities were trying to confirm at least one other death in the city.
All Amtrak service between Philadelphia and Boston with an initial departure before 9 a.m. ET Thursday was canceled. More than 61,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey were without electricity by 6 a.m.
Soaking rains prompted the evacuations of thousands of people after water reached dangerous levels at a dam near Johnstown, a Pennsylvania town nicknamed Flood City. An official said later Wednesday that the water levels near the dam were receding.
Utilities reported hundreds of thousands of customers without power in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In Rockville, Maryland, water had almost reached the ceilings of basement units Wednesday when crews arrived at an apartment complex. A 19-year-old was found dead, another person was missing and about 200 people from 60 apartments near Rock Creek were displaced, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said Wednesday.
A tornado was believed to have touched down along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
“In many years I have not seen circumstances like this,” Goldstein said.
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 extended 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 leaving the region saturated and more vulnerable to this week’s torrents.
Tropical Storm Larry was strengthening and moving quickly westward after forming off the coast of Africa earlier Wednesday. Forecasters predicted it would rapidly intensify in a manner similar to Ida, becoming a major hurricane with top wind speeds of 120 mph by Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
