New York flood emergency 4:26 am
(CNN) -
At least eight people have died in the floods that hit the northeastern United States due to torrential rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, authorities reported Thursday.
Seven of the deaths after Ida's passage occurred in New York City and an eighth in New Jersey.
Across the northeast, highways were transformed into mighty rivers, the country's largest subway system was nearly paralyzed, and rescues were recorded after the record downpour.
States of emergency were declared in New York State, New York City, and New Jersey.
Four of the deaths in New York occurred in the borough of Queens, according to the New York Police Department.
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A woman in her 40s and a man in her 20s from the 183rd Street area died in their homes after police were unable to reach them in the flood, New York police told CNN.
Elsewhere in Queens, near Grand Central Parkway, a woman in her 40s died from the flooding of her home, New York police said.
Another person died due to the partial collapse of a side wall of a building, authorities said.
Minute by minute: At least 8 dead in New York City and New Jersey from remnants of Ida
In Brooklyn, a man in his 60s was found dead by a police officer in his flooded home near Ridgewood Avenue, the department told CNN.
New York bans the circulation of non-emergency vehicles
The tri-state region was affected by the remains of Ida.
Both Central Park, in New York, and Newark, in New Jersey, broke the record for daily rainfall on Wednesday.
A report from the National Weather Service put Central Park rainfall at 181 millimeters, beating the old record of 97 millimeters set in 1927. New Jersey's largest city received 213 millimeters of precipitation, beating the old record of 56 millimeters set in 1959 .
The city's subway system was stopped, except for two lines, due to flooding from Ida, leaving many people stranded and not knowing how to get home.
Some were left standing in a subway near Times Square around 1:20 a.m. after traveling from the US Open tennis tournament in Queens.
Videos from the station showed a cascade of water breaking off the roof of the car and falling on people trying to get out, as well as a drinks kiosk being tossed about by the wind.
As the water poured into the stations, first responders have been evacuating people from the trains, MTA Acting President and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement.
Driving ban
The city has also established a driving ban for all non-emergency vehicles until 5:00 a.m.
"We are going to have some difficult hours until we get the rain to disappear. I really want to urge everyone to move tomorrow, not to enter a street, a highway, a highway with a lot of accumulated water. That can be very dangerous." New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday night.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the flooding level from Ida was much higher than expected.
"We can take all precautions in advance, and we deploy our assets to be on the ground in anticipation, but Mother Nature will do what she wants, and she's really upset tonight," Hochul told CNN's Don Lemon.
"We have to be ready to clean up tomorrow. I'll be there in the morning to make sure this is going well, but right now we are in a very serious situation," he warned.
A tornado hits South Jersey
In neighboring New Jersey, the body of a man in his 70s was recovered from the flood after his vehicle was caught in the stream of water, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora told CNN's Don Lemon.
Firefighters were dragged under the vehicle, making it nearly "impossible" for them to reach the man, Lora said.
Firefighters were able to rescue two other people in the vehicle, according to the mayor.
Many towns in the North Jersey area reported massive flooding, damaging homes and businesses and forcing drivers to abandon their cars.
A fire ambulance was submerged in the floodwaters in Clifton along with several other submerged vehicles.
They rescue a cow trapped in a tree after Hurricane Ida 0:38
In South Jersey, a tornado made landfall on Mullica Hill, about 25 miles from Philadelphia.
In two videos you can see debris writhing in the tornado.
"I had just gotten out of the gym and was heading in the same shopping area to a small sandwich shop. I parked the car and called my husband to see if he wanted me to bring food home," said Kristi Johnson, who recorded the videos and shared what he witnessed with CNN.
"While talking on the phone I looked out the driver's window and saw swirling clouds and debris flying towards me. I rolled down the window and it sounded like a train was coming. I hung up on my husband and started driving away. It was extremely scary." counted.
Satellite images show before and after the destructive passage of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana
Meanwhile, Newark, the state's largest city, recorded its wettest day of all time on Wednesday.
And in Trenton, the state capital, authorities advised residents of the Island neighborhood to evacuate before 8 a.m. this Thursday.
41 passengers rescued from a Pennsylvania school bus
The wrath of Ida's remains was felt in other states before hitting the New York region.
In Pennsylvania, the storm had caught a school bus in floodwaters in Shaler Township.
The school district and the local volunteer fire company confirmed that 41 passengers were rescued from the bus.
The video shows a team of at least four people wading waist-deep in water to help passengers onto a small boat.
The rescued students were later transported safely to the high school, the Shaler Area School District said.
With a flash flood emergency and a tornado watch, Gov. Tom Wolf encouraged residents to stay home Wednesday and take the storm seriously.
"This is an extremely dangerous storm that is affecting the entire state," Wolf said in a news release.
"As we continue to monitor conditions, I ask everyone to please stay home if you can," he said.
This is the damage caused by Ida in Louisiana 1:06
In Maryland, Ida's downpour flooded an apartment complex, leaving one person dead and another missing.
Firefighters and rescue personnel evacuated dozens of people from the Rock Creek Woods apartment complex in Rockville, authorities said Wednesday.
As a result of the storm, 50 apartments were affected and 12 were flooded, according to police.
More rescues and the passing of a tornado
A 19-year-old man was found dead, but the cause of death has not been confirmed, Montgomery County Police Department public information officer Cassandra Durham told CNN.
Three people and a firefighter were taken to area hospitals for non-life threatening injuries.
The rest of the residents were taken to a local recreation center, where the Red Cross and Montgomery County Health and Human Services met to help.
A tornado also made landfall in the state, according to Bud Zapata, the Public Information Officer for the Annapolis Fire Department.
The tornado made landfall in a primarily commercial area of Annapolis.
No injuries have been reported, but some private residences were damaged and there is an active gas leak in the area.
Firefighters, police and other agencies are assessing the damage, Zapata said.
The National Weather Service had tweeted that a radar-confirmed tornado was in the area.
"Seek shelter if you are in the path of this storm!" Was the request.
CNN's Shimone Prokupecz, Michael Guy, Mark Morales, Keith Allen, Rob Frehse, Dave Alsup, Mirna Alsharif, Alta Spells, Kiely Westhoff, Paul Murphy, and Colin McCullough contributed to this report.
United States Hurricane Ida