The remnants of Hurricane Ida brought historic rains and flooding to the east coast of the country, causing
at least 43 deaths
in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut as rescue calls pile up.
More than 150,000 homes were without power after the storm struck between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
At least 11 of the deaths occurred in New York City,
in flooded basements
.
These spaces often serve as relatively affordable housing in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country.
Tropical Storm Ida made landfall last weekend as a powerful Category 4 hurricane and is moving east tonight.
At noon on Thursday, the state of emergency was still in force throughout the region, while authorities tried to control the damage.
General view of Route 206 partially flooded as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ida in Somerville, NJ.AP
The president, Joe Biden, assured this Thursday at a press conference that extreme storms like Ida are a reminder that
the climate crisis is real
and that the country needs to be better prepared.
Biden tried to reassure residents of the northeast of the country and said
federal first responders are working
to help clean up after the rains and floods.
The Democrat made it clear to governors that the Federal Emergency Management Agency "is on the ground."
["It was very fast, very horrible," says a man whose house was left in ruins in New Jersey]
Deathly victims
In
New York City
, at least 12 people were killed, 11 of them trapped in flooded basements, police and Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Another died in a car.
Among the victims is
a 2-year-old boy.
In New Jersey, at least eight people died.
In the city of Elizabeth, four people were found dead in an apartment complex, the mayor and city spokesman told local media, correcting an earlier report of five deaths.
In the city of Passaic, a 70-year-old man was swept away after his family was rescued from their car.
Ida's remains hit the town of Mamaroneck, New York with force
Sept.
2, 202100: 23
[These figures illustrate the monstrous force with which Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana]
In
Pennsylvania,
three people died: one after a tree fell, another drowned in a car and another at home.
In Rockville,
Maryland,
a 19-year-old man died Wednesday in an apartment complex, according to police.
In Connecticut, a state police sergeant died after his car was swept away.
Historic floods in New York
"We are experiencing a historic meteorological event
with record-breaking rains throughout the city, with brutal flooding and dangerous road conditions," De Blasio tweeted Wednesday night, declaring a state of emergency in the city.
State Governor Kathy Hochul also declared a state of emergency, allowing for state aid and city airports.
LaGuardia and JFK suffered flight disruptions.
Practically all the subway lines were suspended when it was flooded by floods and
waterfalls that fell both from the stairs of the stations
and from the roofs of the tunnels, once again highlighting the significant deterioration of the infrastructure.
At least 17 trains were trapped.
[A mother and her son die in the basement of their house due to the floods in Queens]
More than 3 inches of rain fell over Central Park in an hour,
according to the National Weather Service.
At least six deaths confirmed after Hurricane Ida passed through Louisiana
Sept.
2, 202100: 43
The weather service retweeted a video from Brooklyn showing cars driving through water that looked like a river with an urgent warning: "This water is too deep to go through."
"This is like a swimming pool"
Deborah Torres, who lives on the first floor of the building where three people died in a basement in the New York neighborhood of Queens, including a baby, said the water filled her apartment up to her knees.
"The water pressure was so fast and strong that I think they couldn't open the door in any way because this is like a swimming pool," he said.
"I don't know how it happened. It was so fast," he exclaimed.
Tornado in pennsylvania
The National Weather Service confirmed that there was at least one tornado in southern New Jersey, just outside the city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.
Videos on social media showed debris everywhere in the streets and roofs completely ripped from houses.
On video: This was the flooding of a subway station in Brooklyn by the Ida pass
Sept.
2, 202100: 32
[Hurricanes Ida and Katrina have many similarities. But experts point to a key difference in its impact]
Ida caused countless school and business closures in Pennsylvania.
About 150 state highways were closed and many smaller ones were impassable.
Some 18,000 homes were without power, including about 12,000 in the central state.
With information from NBC News, The New York Times, EFE and AP.
