Ida remnants bring death, destruction to Northeast, days after storm slammed Gulf Coast

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A 70-year-old man was reported dead in New Jersey, a 19-year-old man was found dead in Maryland and New York City authorities reported at least seven deaths – including a 2-year-old – related to heavy flooding as Ida caused havoc in the Northeast overnight into Thursday morning.

The fatalities and damage occurred three days after Ida blasted into the Gulf Coast region Sunday as a hurricane with winds of more than 170 miles per hour.

Those killed by floodwaters in New York City included a 2-year-old boy, a 48-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man, all found inside a home in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens. Two other victims also died in Queens, The New York Times reported.

In Brooklyn, a 48-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man lost their lives, according to WCBS-TV of New York City.
The governors of both New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency as they grappled with heavy rains, high winds and flooding.

In New York City, Wednesday's storm nearly shut down the subway system, prompting Mayor Bill de Blasio to declare a state of emergency through the night. 

"We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads," de Blasio wrote in a statement posted to Twitter late Wednesday. 

He urged New Yorkers to "stay inside" as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida moved through the region. 

Video on social media showed water rushing into a subway station at 28th Street as New York state's Metropolitan Transit Authority put out an advisory saying, "Train service may be extremely limited tonight because of heavy rainfall and flooding across the region. We strongly recommend you avoid traveling at this time, if you can."

The city also issued a travel ban, requiring all nonemergency vehicles to stay off the streets until 5 a.m. ET. 

The downpour broke a record set just last week with Tropical Storm Henri, according to The New York Times. In one hour, 3.15 inches of rain fell in Central Park on Wednesday, smashing last week's record of 1.94 inches.
 
De Blasio also noted that thousands were without power in the city. 
"We’re keeping our eyes on our power grid," he tweeted. "We’ve seen about 5,300 customers without power. We expect the rain to stop in the next few hours. But until then, again, if you’re not inside, get inside."

Sideways rain also delayed the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens when it drenched the roofed court. 

The National Weather Service declared a flood emergency in New York City. 

"To be clear... this particular warning for NYC is the second time we've ever issued a Flash Flood Emergency (It's the first one for NYC)," NWS New York wrote on Twitter. "The first time we've issued a Flash Flood Emergency was for Northeast New Jersey a [sic] an hour ago."

New York City police officers rescued a disabled man and his dog who became trapped in a basement in three feet of water.

Newly installed New York  Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also declared states of emergency Wednesday night. At least one tornado ripped through New Jersey earlier Wednesday and at least one 70-year-old man died in Passaic when he was swept away by floodwaters, WCBS-TV in New York reported. 


In Kearny, N.J., the roof of a Postal Service building collapsed with people inside, but there was no immediate word about injuries, The Associated Press reported.

In Rockville, Md., a 19-year-old man was found dead, another person was missing and about 200 people were displaced because of the weather, according to the AP.

In the Philadelphia area, "large and extremely dangerous" tornadoes were reported in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to FOX 29 of Philadelphia.

Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane last Sunday, leaving a trail of destruction through Louisiana as it moved north. 
Source: Fox news
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