"Ida" foothills flood New York - Mayor declares a state of emergency

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Spectators of the US Open were surprised by the heavy rain - and wade on the flooded paths in front of the stadium

Photo: JUSTIN LANE / EPA

The New York has declared a state of emergency because of an extreme storm in the metropolis.

"Tonight we are witnessing a historic weather event with record rains across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our streets," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

According to de Blasio, people should seek shelter in houses and not go out into the streets to enable the rescue workers to do their work.

“Stay away from the subway.

Stay away from the streets.

Do not drive into these severe floods. ”Around 5,300 households are without electricity.

There was flooding all over the city.

Almost all subway lines were shut down late Wednesday evening, clips shared on social media show how the masses of water penetrate the subway shafts and patter onto a subway train.

According to CNN, it is the foothills of the tropical storm "Ida" that bring torrential rain and the risk of flash floods and tornadoes in parts of the northern central Atlantic.

The dpa news agency reports, citing the National Weather Service, of the heaviest rain since records began.

Within just an hour, around 80 millimeters of rain fell in Central Park in Manhattan.

Cars get stuck in water

The torrential rain also affects the US Open.

The second round game of the German tennis star Angelique Kerber had to be postponed.

In the Louis Armstrong Stadium, in which Kerber was supposed to play against Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine on Wednesday evening, it rained so heavily from the side, despite the badger, that the game was suspended.

The pictures show how people around the stadium sometimes waded knee-deep through the water.

A video by Unicef ​​spokesman Joe English showed Queens Boulevard in the district of the same name, which was so flooded that passengers on a public bus got onto the seats: “Queens Boulevard in Maspeth / Corona is literally a river at the moment.

Bus flooded with water, several cars got stuck in the water.

Absolutely crazy, ”wrote English.

"Ida" hit the US coast southwest of New Orleans on Sunday as a dangerous hurricane (magnitude four).

In the meantime it weakened to tropical low and moved further north from Louisiana.

The "Ida" foothills also caused floods outside of New York.

The Meteorological Service reported at least five flash floods occurring in an area west of Philadelphia to northern New Jersey.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy had also declared a state of emergency.

apr / dpa / Reuters