Biden directs federal aid to NY, NJ after deadly flooding

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – President Joe Biden approved large catastrophe declarations Monday greenlighting national assistance for radical successful six New Jersey counties and 5 New York counties affected by devastating flooding past week from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

At slightest 50 radical were killed successful six Eastern states arsenic grounds rainfall past Wednesday overwhelmed rivers and sewer systems. Some radical were trapped successful fast-filling basement apartments and cars, oregon swept distant arsenic they tried to escape. The tempest besides spawned respective tornadoes.

Biden is scheduled to sojourn New Jersey and New York City connected Tuesday to survey tempest damage, the White House said. The tempest killed astatine slightest 27 radical successful New Jersey and 13 successful New York City.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, touring flood-damaged areas of Lambertville connected Labor Day, said Biden's large catastrophe declaration volition let individuals to person assistance, including grants for impermanent lodging and location repairs and low-cost loans to screen uninsured spot losses.

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An existing exigency declaration issued past week enabled state, region and section governments to get reimbursed for catastrophe spending, Murphy said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said an archetypal appraisal recovered that the tempest damaged much than 1,200 homes and caused astir $50 cardinal successful harm to nationalist infrastructure and property. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said harm to metropolis infrastructure was estimated astatine $35 million.

In the Hudson Valley, Metro-North said commuter obstruction work volition instrumentality for Tuesday morning's unreserved hr aft crews removed respective feet of mud from the tracks and and restoring washed retired slopes and ballast. Two of the 4 tracks connected the Hudson enactment stay retired of work for repairs betwixt Riverdale and Tarrytown.

Biden's catastrophe declarations screen Bergen, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Passaic, and Somerset counties successful New Jersey and let for idiosyncratic assistance for radical successful Bronx, Queens, Kings, Richmond and Westchester counties successful New York.

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Murphy said helium would beryllium talking to Biden during his sojourn to astir adding different counties to the large catastrophe declaration.

Murphy joined authorities and section officials connected a walking circuit of Lambertville, passing homes with belongings piled extracurricular arsenic residents spent their Labor Day clearing flood debris, aided astatine 1 constituent by a bulldozer.

The large catastrophe declaration could assistance radical similar Nick Cepparulo, who told Murphy each of his family's first-floor possessions were washed distant soon aft they got successful their car and raced for higher ground.

“We’ll beryllium each right," Cepparulo told reporters aft speaking with Murphy. “We request a small assistance getting there.”

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Sen. Chuck Schumer and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent portion of the greeting touring of tempest harm successful Queens with Deanne Criswell, the erstwhile metropolis exigency absorption main who’s present head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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One nonmigratory greeted de Blasio with an limb connected his enarthrosis and a quip astir their flooded homes.

“Welcome to Woodside," she said. "We person swimming pools successful each house. So you tin get your bathing suit connected and instrumentality a dip with us.”

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