A stunned U.S. East Coast woke up Thursday to a rising death toll, swelling rivers and destruction from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which lashed the region with record rainfall days after hitting the Gulf Coast as one of the strongest hurricanes on record to hit the U.S.
29 dead in 7 U.S. states after remnants of Hurricane Ida brought flooding
In a region that had not expected a serious blow from the hurricane that was no longer, the storm killed at least 29 people from Maryland to New York on Wednesday night as basement apartments suddenly filled with water, rivers and streams swelled to record levels and roads became canals to swallow cars.
Twelve people died in New York City, many when they were trapped in flooded basements, police and Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Four people were found dead in an apartment complex in Elizabeth, N.J., the mayor and city spokesman told local media, correcting an earlier report of five.
Outside Philadelphia, officials reported “multiple deaths” and said additional details were not immediately available. A 19-year-old man died in flooding at a Rockville, Maryland, complex early Wednesday, police said.
The fierce storm also spawned tornadoes, including one that tore apart homes and toppled silos in Mullica Hill, New Jersey.
Water from record rainfall cascaded into New York City subway tunnels, trapping at least 17 trains and forcing the cancellation of service overnight and into the early morning. Online videos showed passengers standing on car seats filled with water. All passengers were safely evacuated, authorities said.
Thursday morning, the nation’s largest city was slow to recover from catastrophic flooding reminiscent of superstorm Sandy in 2012.
🇺🇸🌪👉🏼 Les restes de l’ouragan IDA provoquent des inondations à New York, voici le métro dans la 28e rue, à New York pic.twitter.com/wM3mQwzmiH
— TATA CLEM-ENTINE (@tata_clem) September 2, 2021
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