At least 44 dead as flash floods hit US northeast - Phys.org
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At least 44 dead as flash floods hit US
northeast
2 September 2021, by Peter Hutchison and Nicolas Revise
Hundreds of flights were canceled at LaGuardia and
JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video
showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.
President Joe Biden declared emergencies in the
states of New York and New Jersey on Thursday,
ordering federal disaster management agencies to
coordinate relief efforts and provide emergency
support.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency was
mandated "to identify, mobilize, and provide at its
discretion, equipment and resources necessary to
alleviate the impacts of the emergency," the White
House said in a statement.
Floodwater surrounds vehicles following heavy rain on
an expressway in Brooklyn, New York early on Ahead of a visit to the southern state of Louisiana,
September 2, 2021, as flash flooding and record- where Ida earlier destroyed buildings and left more
breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida than a million homes without power, Biden said
swept through the area. "we're all in this together. The nation is ready to
help".
Flash flooding caused by the remnants of
Hurricane Ida killed at least 44 people in four
northeastern US states overnight into Thursday,
including several who perished in basements
during the "historic" weather event officials blamed
on climate change.
Record rainfall, which prompted an unprecedented
flash flood emergency warning for New York City,
turned streets into rivers and shut down subway
services as water cascaded down platforms onto
tracks.
"I'm 50 years old and I've never seen that much
rain ever," said Metodija Mihajlov whose basement
Heavy rains brought chaos to New York City on
of his Manhattan restaurant was flooded with three
September 1, 2021.
inches of water.
"It was like living in the jungle, like tropical rain.
Unbelievable. Everything is so strange this year,"
'Historic weather event'
he told AFP.
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Flooding closed major roads across New Jersey Ida blazed a trail of destruction north after
and New York boroughs including Manhattan, The slamming into Louisiana over the weekend,
Bronx and Queens, submerging cars and forcing bringing severe flooding and tornadoes.
the fire department to rescue hundreds of people.
"We're enduring an historic weather event tonight
At least 23 people died in New Jersey, Governor with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal
Phil Murphy told reporters. flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,"
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said late
"The majority of these deaths were individuals who Wednesday.
got caught in their vehicles," he said.
The National Weather Service issued its first-ever
A state trooper died in the neighboring state of emergency flash flood warning for New York City,
Connecticut. urging residents to move to higher ground.
Thirteen died in New York City, including 11 who "You do not know how deep the water is and it is
could not escape their basements, police said. The too dangerous," the New York branch of the
victims ranged from the ages of two to 86. National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.
"Among the people MOST at risk during flash The NWS recorded 3.15 inches (80 millimeters) of
floods here are those living in off-the-books rain in Central Park in just an hour—beating a record
basement dwellings that don't meet the safety set just last month during Storm Henri.
codes necessary to save lives," lawmaker
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. The US Open was also halted as howling wind and
rain blew under the corners of the Louis Armstrong
"These are working class, immigrant, and low- Stadium roof.
income people & families," she added.
A destroyed farm is seen in Mullica Hill , New Jersey on
September 2, 2021 after record-breaking rainfall brought Map showing the path of Hurricane Ida that passed
by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area. through the southern United States this week.
Three also died in the New York suburb of Lingering tornado threat
Westchester, while another four died in
Montgomery County outside Philadelphia in New Yorkers woke to clear blue skies Thursday as
Pennsylvania, a local official confirmed. the city edged back to life, but signs of the previous
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night's carnage weren't far away: residents moved linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of
fallen tree branches from roads as subway services southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and
slowly resumed. southern New York as Ida tracked north through
New England.
By Thursday evening, around 38,000 homes in
Pennsylvania, 24,000 in New Jersey and 12,000 in A tornado struck the popular tourist destination
New York were without power, according to the Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Thursday evening.
website poweroutage.us, a significant decrease
from earlier in the day. © 2021 AFP
It is rare for such storms to strike America's
northeastern seaboard and comes as the surface
layer of oceans warms due to climate change.
The warming is causing cyclones to become more
powerful and carry more water, posing an
increasing threat to the world's coastal
communities, scientists say.
"Global warming is upon us and it's going to get
worse and worse and worse unless we do
something about it," said Democratic senator
Chuck Schumer.
In Annapolis, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from
Washington, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled
electricity poles.
Court staff clean the rain off the courts at the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, on
September 1, 2021.
The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would
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APA citation: At least 44 dead as flash floods hit US northeast (2021, September 2) retrieved 24 October
2021 from https://phys.org/news/2021-09-storm-ida-heavy-york-city.html
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