NEW YORK – At least 44 people were killed in the New York region by flash flooding produced by Hurricane Ida’s leftovers overnight and into Thursday, including some who died in basements during the “historic” weather disaster that officials blamed on climate change.
Record rains transformed streets into rivers and shut down subway systems as water cascaded down platforms onto tracks, prompting an unprecedented flash flood emergency alert for New York City.
Metodija Mihajlov, whose Manhattan restaurant’s basement was inundated with three inches of water, said, “I’m 50 years old and I’ve never seen so much rain.”
“It seemed like I was in the forest, drenched in tropical rain. Unbelievable. This year has been a weird one “According to AFP, he said.
At LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where footage showed a terminal swamped by rains, hundreds of flights were cancelled.
“We’re all on the same team. The country is ready to assist “President Joe Biden said this ahead of a trip to Louisiana on Friday, where Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on structures and knocked out electricity to over a million people.