Hurricane Ida: Death toll in New York City floods rise

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New York - Water pours into New York City subway tunnels

By Reuters, AP, AFP

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Published: Thu 2 Sep 2021, 8:25 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Sep 2021, 5:56 PM

The remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped historic rain over the tri-state area, with at least nine deaths linked to flooding in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as basement apartments suddenly filled with water and freeways and boulevards turned into rivers, submerging cars.

At least nine deaths were reported in New York City and New Jersey. A New York City police spokesperson says a total of eight people died when they became trapped in flooded basements. Officials outside of Philadelphia reported “multiple fatalities,” saying no additional details were immediately available.


Water poured into New York City subway tunnels as catastrophic flooding, which scientists have warned likely will be more common with man-made global warming, came to America’s largest city.

Major flooding along the Schuylkill River swamped highways, submerged cars and disrupted commuter rail service in the Philadelphia area. In a tweet, city officials predicted “historic flooding” on Thursday as river levels continue to rise.


The rain ended by daybreak Thursday as rescuers searched for more stranded people and braced for potentially finding more bodies.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said while declaring a state of emergency in New York City earlier on Wednesday.

New York state governor Kathy Hochul and city mayor Bill de Blasio have declared a state of emergency as the remnants of Storm Ida caused massive flooding in America's financial and cultural capital.


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