Ida not done with US yet; hurricane's remnants rip Northeast

NEW YORK – Relentless rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida sent the New York City country into a authorities of exigency aboriginal Thursday, arsenic the tempest carried into New England with threats of much tornadoes.

New York’s FDR Drive, a large artery connected the eastbound broadside of Manhattan, and the Bronx River Parkway were nether h2o by precocious Wednesday evening. Subway stations and tracks became so flooded that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended each service. Videos posted online showed subway riders lasting connected seats successful cars filled with water.

Other videos showed vehicles submerged up to their windows connected large roadways successful and astir the metropolis and garbage bobbing down the streets.

“We’re enduring an historical upwind lawsuit contiguous with grounds breaking rainfall crossed the city, brutal flooding and unsafe conditions connected our roads,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said portion declaring a authorities of exigency successful New York City precocious Wednesday.

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Gov. Kathy Hochul besides declared a authorities of exigency for New York state.

The National Weather Service bureau successful New York declared its first-ever acceptable of flash flood emergencies successful the portion Wednesday night, an alert level that is reserved for “exceedingly uncommon situations erstwhile a terrible menace to quality beingness and catastrophic harm from a flash flood is happening oregon volition hap soon.”

New York City enactment successful spot a question prohibition until 5 a.m. ET Thursday for each non-emergency vehicles.

The National Weather Service recorded 3.15 inches of rainfall successful New York’s Central Park successful 1 hr Wednesday night, acold surpassing the 1.94 inches that fell successful 1 hr during Tropical Storm Henri connected the nighttime of Aug. 21, which was believed astatine the clip to beryllium the astir ever recorded successful the park.

Earlier Wednesday, the tempest blew done the mid-Atlantic states with astatine slightest 2 tornadoes, dense winds and drenching rains that collapsed the extortion of a U.S. Postal Service gathering successful New Jersey and threatened to overrun a dam successful Pennsylvania.

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Social media posts showed homes reduced to rubble successful a confederate New Jersey region conscionable extracurricular Philadelphia, not acold from wherever the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado Wednesday evening. Authorities did not person immoderate contiguous accusation connected injuries.

The extortion collapsed astatine the Postal Service gathering successful Kearny, New Jersey, with radical inside, constabulary Sgt. Chris Levchak said. Rescue crews were connected country into the night, with nary contiguous connection connected the fig of radical oregon severity of injuries.

Gov. Phil Murphy declared a authorities of exigency successful each of New Jersey’s 21 counties, urging radical to enactment disconnected the flooded roads. Meteorologists warned that rivers apt won’t crest for a fewer much days, raising the anticipation of much wide flooding.

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At slightest 1 decease was reported successful the state. Passaic Mayor Hector Lora told quality outlets that idiosyncratic died successful the metropolis aft being submerged successful their car.

Soaking rains prompted the evacuations of thousands of radical aft h2o reached unsafe levels astatine a dam adjacent Johnstown, a Pennsylvania municipality nicknamed Flood City. An authoritative said aboriginal Wednesday that the h2o levels adjacent the dam were receding.

Utilities reported hundreds of thousands of customers without powerfulness successful New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In Rockville, Maryland, h2o had astir reached the ceilings of basement units Wednesday erstwhile crews arrived astatine an flat complex. A 19-year-old was recovered dead, different idiosyncratic was missing and astir 200 radical from 60 apartments adjacent Rock Creek were displaced, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said Wednesday.

A tornado was believed to person touched down on the Chesapeake Bay successful Maryland.

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“In galore years I person not seen circumstances similar this,” Goldstein said.

The National Weather Service had predicted flooding from what remained of Hurricane Ida, saying steep terrain and adjacent metropolis streets were peculiarly susceptible to a set of terrible upwind that extended to Massachusetts, wherever tornado warnings were issued aboriginal Thursday.

Tropical Storm Henri deed the portion a small much than a week ago, causing flooding and leaving the portion saturated and much susceptible to this week’s torrents.

Tropical Storm Larry was strengthening and moving rapidly westward aft forming disconnected the seashore of Africa earlier Wednesday. Forecasters predicted it would rapidly intensify successful a mode akin to Ida, becoming a large hurricane with apical upwind speeds of 120 mph (193 kph) by Saturday.

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Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. AP writer Ryan Kryska successful Hoboken, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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