State of emergency, flights cancelled as Storm Ida drenches New York City
- Storm kills at least 26 people from Maryland to New York on Wednesday night and Thursday morning
- Hundreds of flights cancelled, undergrounds closed as New York City is hit with record-breaking rain
A stunned US East Coast woke up on Thursday to a rising death toll, surging rivers and destruction from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which walloped the region with record-breaking rain days after hitting the Gulf coast as one of the strongest hurricanes on record to strike the US.
In a region that had been warned about potentially deadly flash flooding but had not braced for such a blow from the no-longer-hurricane, the storm killed at least 26 people from Maryland to New York on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Nine people died in New York City, police said, one of them in a car and eight in flooded basement flats that often serve as relatively affordable homes for low-income people. Officials said at least eight died in New Jersey and three in Pennsylvania’s suburban Montgomery County; one was killed by a falling tree, one drowned in a car and another in a home. An on-duty state trooper in Connecticut was swept away in his cruiser and later taken to a hospital, state police and local authorities said..
Outside Philadelphia, officials reported “multiple fatalities,” saying no additional details were immediately available. A 19-year-old man was killed in the flooding at the Rockville complex early on Wednesday, police said.
In Connecticut, an on-duty state trooper and his cruiser were swept away in floodwaters on Thursday morning in Woodbury, and the trooper was taken to a hospital, state police and local authorities said.
Deborah Torres, who lives on the first floor of a building where three people died in a basement flat in New York City’s Queens borough, said water rapidly filled her own flat to her knees. The landlord frantically urged her neighbours below to get out, she said.
“The water pressure was so fast and strong, so I think they couldn’t open the door either way because this is like a pool,” she said. “I don’t know how that happened. It was so fast.”
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The ferocious storm also spawned tornadoes, including one that ripped apart homes and toppled silos in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, south of Philadelphia.
Water from record rainfall cascaded into New York City Subway tunnels, trapping at least 17 trains and forcing the cancellation of service throughout the night and early morning. Videos online showed riders standing on seats in cars filled with water. All riders were evacuated safely, officials said.
On Thursday morning, the nation’s largest city was slow to recover from catastrophic flooding that was reminiscent of Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Major flooding along the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania swamped highways, submerged cars and disrupted rail service in the Philadelphia area. In a tweet, city officials predicted “historic flooding” on Thursday as river levels continue to rise. The riverside community of Manayunk remained largely under water.
The rain in the tri-state area ended by daybreak on Thursday as rescuers searched for more stranded people and braced for potentially finding more bodies.
“We’re enduring a 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.
Police in Connecticut were investigating a report of a person missing due to the flooding in Woodbury. In Passaic, New Jersey, a 70-year-old man was swept away after his family was rescued from their car.
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Among the other deaths reported in New York City, a 48-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man died after being found at separate residences, and a 43-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man both died after being found inside a home. Causes of death and identifications were pending.
Heavy winds and drenching rains collapsed the roof of a US Postal Service building in New Jersey and threatened to overrun a dam in Pennsylvania.
In New York City, officials banned travel for all but emergency vehicles until early on Thursday and warned against unnecessary travel into the morning. The FDR Drive in Manhattan, and the Bronx River Parkway were under water during the storm. Rubbish bobbed in the water rushing down streets. Some underground and rail services had resumed on Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service office in New York issued its first-ever set of flash flood emergencies in the region Wednesday night, alerts only sent in the most dangerous conditions. An emergency was issued August 22 in Waverly, Tennessee, when flooding in the town and surrounding county killed 20 people after the rainfall in one day shattered the state record.
That was the start of a deadly two weeks across the nation. Wildfires are threatening Lake Tahoe, Tropical Storm Henri struck the Northeast and Ida struck Louisiana as the fifth-strongest storm to ever hit the US mainland, leaving 1 million people without power, maybe for weeks
Rescues took place all over New York City as its 8.8 million people saw much worse flooding than from Henri.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in all 21 counties, urging people to stay off the flooded roads. Meteorologists warned that rivers likely will not crest for a few more days, raising the possibility of more widespread flooding.
“There’s a lot of hurt in New Jersey,” Murphy told ABC’s Good Morning America on Thursday as he discussed damage caused by flooding in the northern part of the state and tornadoes in the southern part of the state.
Newark International Airport shut down on Wednesday night as videos showed water rushing through a terminal. The airport was allowing limited flights on Thursday. Officials said 370 flights have been cancelled so far.
Amtrak service was cancelled between Philadelphia and Boston, resuming in limited capacity Thursday morning. New Jersey Transit train service remained suspended with the exception of the Atlantic City line. Buses were running with myriad cancellations and delays. Transit officials cautioned against travelling unless it’s “absolutely essential.”
At least 220,000 customers were without power in the region, with most of the outages in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. More than 35,000 customers were without power on Thursday morning in New York City, Long Island and its northern suburbs.
Southern New England awoke on Thursday to inundated roads, commuter delays and an ongoing flash flood warning. Some students at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut were forced to relocate from their accommodation. In Plainville, Connecticut, authorities said they used boats to rescue 18 people from a flooded neighbourhood.
A section of Route 24 in southeastern Massachusetts was shut down because of water on the highway. In Portsmouth, Rhode Island, a road crumbled under the onslaught of rain.
The National Weather Service said it was investigating a possible tornado touchdown on Cape Cod around 1am on Thursday. Meteorologist Bill Simpson said reported damage including downed trees.
Parts of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where 2,200 people died after an infamous dam failure in 1889, were evacuated for a time on Wednesday after water reached dangerous levels at a dam near the city. An official said later Wednesday that the water levels near the dam were receding.
In Frederick County, Maryland, first responders used a boat to rescue 10 children and a driver from a school bus caught in rising floodwaters. The county’s school superintendent faced criticism for not dismissing students early. He apologised, saying the decision to remain open led to “stress and anxiety for many,” the Frederick News-Post reported.
The Atlantic hurricane season is far from over. Larry became a hurricane on Thursday morning, forecast to rapidly intensify into a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm by Sunday. The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said it’s moving west but remains far from any coast.
