At least 18 people have been reported dead after historic rains linked to Hurricane Ida flooded northeastern states on Wednesday night.
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.
Four people were found dead in an apartment complex in Elizabeth, New Jersey., the city’s mayor and spokesperson told local media.
Social media users in Pennsylvania and New Jersey captured images and videos of at least two tornadoes, including one that the National Weather Service confirmed just outside of Philadelphia.
Authorities did not have any immediate information on related injuries.
In Kearny, New Jersey, the roof of a Postal Service building collapsed with people inside, but there was no immediate word about injuries, according to The Associated Press.
In Rockville, Maryland, authorities said about 200 people were displaced and one person was missing due to the weather.
Water rescues continued into Thursday morning and, though a travel ban was lifted in New York, residents of both New Jersey and New York were urged to stay off of roads impacted by the storm.
Officers throughout the city have been responding to 911 calls of people affected by the storm.@NYPDSpecialops Emergency Service Unit personnel just rescued a disabled man & his dog who were trapped in a basement with 3 feet of water. They were both rescued & are on dry ground. pic.twitter.com/oamGAaM76d
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 2, 2021
“Please stay off the roads. Many roads remain flooded this morning. It is not safe to drive,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted. “Our crews are working to clear and open roads, and we need everyone to stay off them so crews can safely do their job.”
“There is a Travel Advisory in effect. All non-emergency vehicles are advised to stay off of NYC streets and highways while clean-up continues,” the New York City Mayor’s Office tweeted. “Stay home as much as possible today until conditions improve.”
Both Murphy and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared states of emergency on Wednesday night.
Roads were impacted and photos showed cars abandoned in the floodwaters and a sinkhole that swallowed a car in New Jersey.
Wild scene in the subway tonight #subwaycreatures #ida pic.twitter.com/G5MJp1qGhw
— Rick (@SubwayCreatures) September 2, 2021
New York City police officers rescued a disabled man and his dog who became trapped in a basement in three feet of water.
Video on social media showed water rushing into a subway station at 28th Street as New York state’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) 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.”
On Thursday, the MTA warned that service across its system was “extremely limited” as its employees work to recover from the weather.
“Stay home if you can. If you must travel, please note that train times may not be accurate,” the agency said.
Thousands lost power across the region, and more than 75,900 in Pennsylvania, more than 60,900 in New Jersey and 42,769 in New York were still without power on Thursday morning, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.
Sideways rain delayed the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens when it drenched the roofed court.
In one hour, 3.15 inches of rain fell in Central Park on Wednesday, smashing last week’s record of 1.94 inches during Tropical Storm Henri.
“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),” the National Weather Service in 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.”
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). The first time we've issued a Flash Flood Emergency was for Northeast New Jersey a an hour ago. https://t.co/7k55jeXbpb
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) September 2, 2021
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.
Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane last Sunday, leaving a trail of destruction through Louisiana as it moved north.
See more pics here: https://www.foxnews.com/us/ida-remnants-death-destruction-northeast-new-york-new-jersey-maryland