(CMR) States of emergency were declared in New York, New Jersey, and New York City Wednesday night as multiple people died in flood-related incidents caused by historic rains from Tropical Storm Ida.
At least 14 people have been reported dead after Ida flooded northeastern states. Fox News reported that eight people were confirmed dead in New York City, including a 2-year-old boy, a 48-year-old female, and a 50-year-old man who were all found inside a home in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens as a result of the severe weather. In New Jersey, a 70-year-old man was reported dead, and a 19-year-old man was found dead in Maryland.
There were also reports of tornadoes in Maryland and New Jersey on Wednesday as the storm, which left a path of destruction in Louisiana, continue to affect northeastern sections of the US.
More than 200,000 homes in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were without power on Thursday.
According to the New York Times, the rain on Wednesday — more than half a foot in just a few hours — turned streets and subway platforms into rivers and sent emergency responders in boats rescuing people from the rooftops of cars and from flooded homes. Hundreds of people on trains and subways were evacuated.
The rain broke records set just 11 days before by Tropical Storm Henri, underscoring warnings from climate scientists that the storms herald a new normal on a warmed planet where hotter air holds more water and allows storms to gather strength more quickly and grow ever larger, the NY Times reported.
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