More than twenty people were killed in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the United States as a result of unusually heavy rains caused by Hurricane Ida, which caused great destruction in the southern states, after passing a tropical storm in the northeastern United States on Wednesday evening. . The American press reported Thursday.
As a result of the storm, the basement houses suddenly filled with water, the rivers and streams swelled, and the water flowing on the roads nearly swallowed the cars. New York City police said eight people died in the city when water trapped them in basements. The city’s mayor reports that four bodies have been found at Elizabeth’s apartment property in New Jersey. Local officials said there were “several deaths” in the Philadelphia suburbs, but detailed information was not yet available.
The tropical storm intensified again into a hurricane in some places, flattening homes and silos to the ground in Mullica Hill, south of Philadelphia.
A record amount of rain fell in New York City’s subway tunnelsThey surrounded at least 17 trains, so service was paused overnight and early in the morning. Recordings uploaded to the Internet showed passengers standing in seats on water-filled trains. Authorities say all passengers have been evacuated.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) recorded 8.91 cm of rain in Central Park in New York City in one hour Wednesday evening, far exceeding the previous record of 4.92 cm.
The Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania inundated as a result of the storm, inundating highways, submerging cars in water, and disrupting rail traffic around Philadelphia. City officials wrote on Twitter Thursday of “historic floods” as rivers continued to rise.
The rain ended in the three states Thursday morning. However, the rescue units continue their search and do not see that it is impossible to find additional bodies.
“Today we are experiencing a historic climate event with record amounts of rain in the city, intense flooding and hazardous conditions on the roads,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said when declaring the emergency.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in all 21 counties and told people to stay away from flooded roads. The state-owned Newark International Airport was closed on Wednesday after water stormed the terminals as well. Only a few planes took off on Thursday, with 370 flights canceled so far, according to official figures.
In a speech to the White House on Thursday, US President Joe Biden thanked the rescue teams that first arrived at the scene and worked through the night to save people. “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who came to the scene for the first time and to everyone who worked through the night to save lives and get people back to the electricity supply,” the president said.
Biden also said he assured the governors that the FEMA team was ready to provide all necessary assistance.
