Never before have such heavy downpours been measured in New York: A storm of historic proportions paralyzed the city and flooded streets and apartments. The metropolis declared a state of emergency.
New York – Extreme storms after Hurricane “Ida” triggered unprecedented floods in the metropolis of New York and also wreaked havoc elsewhere in the northeastern United States. Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency late on Wednesday evening (local time).
According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the number of deaths in the metropolis has risen to nine. “We have now lost nine New Yorkers to this storm,” said de Blasio, attributing the catastrophic record rain to climate change. The city has never seen such a storm. You are “in a new world,” said the mayor. “That is the biggest wake-up call we could get.” From now on, every storm in New York must be of similar magnitude – measures against global warming must be stepped up nationwide.
The devastating storm in the northeast cost the lives of more than 20 people in the state of New Jersey alone. “I regret to report that at least 23 people from New Jersey have been killed in the storm so far,” wrote Governor Phil Murphy on Twitter. Most of these fatalities were trapped in their vehicles by the floods.
US President Joe Biden also sees the devastating storms, thunderstorms and forest fires in the USA as evidence of the climate crisis. The country’s infrastructure must be adapted to the threat situation, said Biden in the White House. Storms, floods and fires would occur more frequently and be more violent in the future. “We have to act.” According to Biden, at least eleven people were killed in the severe storms caused by Hurricane “Ida” in the states of New York and New Jersey.
“The water of Niagara Falls on the streets of New York”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced an investigation into whether the rainfall could have been more predictable: “Little did we know that between 8:50 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. last night, the sky literally opened and the waters of Niagara Falls hit the streets from New York ”.
The National Weather Service (NWS) declared a flash flood emergency for the city and the surrounding area for the first time in view of the life-threatening situation.
“We are experiencing a historic weather event with record rain”
While the record rain paralyzed New York and also disrupted the game plan of the US Open in tennis, floods and a tornado caused chaos in New Jersey. The state of emergency also applied in New Jersey and in the state of New York.
“Tonight we are witnessing a historic weather event with record rains across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our streets,” wrote de Blasio. People should seek shelter in houses and not go out into the streets to enable rescue workers to do their work.
Queens Boulevard in Maspeth/Corona is a literal river at the moment. Bus fully flooded driving through, multiple cars stuck in the water. Absolutely insane. pic.twitter.com/LuSL9uWCEl
— Joe English (@JoeEEnglish) September 2, 2021
Streets and apartments were sometimes about three feet under water, and subway traffic came to a complete standstill. Videos could be seen how the masses of water flooded subway stations.
Wild scene in the subway tonight #subwaycreatures #ida pic.twitter.com/G5MJp1qGhw
— Rick (@SubwayCreatures) September 2, 2021
Passengers were stuck in paralyzed subway trains. In a subway station, water penetrated with the force of a spring tide, as pictures showed. Newark Airport temporarily stopped its air traffic, and John F. Kennedy Airport reported delays.
Police cars with flashing lights blocked highways in New York. Given the situation, the metropolis imposed a travel ban: “All non-emergency vehicles must be outside the streets and highways of NYC,” said the city on Twitter.
Due to severe weather, there is a travel ban in effect beginning now until 5:00 AM on 9/2. All non-emergency vehicles must be off NYC streets and highways.
— NYCEM – Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) September 2, 2021
Within just an hour, around 80 millimeters of rain fell in Central Park in Manhattan, according to the National Weather Service. The storm pulverized the previous record that tropical storm “Henri” had set just over a week ago at 49 millimeters for 60 minutes. Overall, the summer of 2021 in New York is not only very hot and sunny, but also the rainiest since measurements began.
The extreme weather also hit the US Open, which is currently taking place, and the German tennis player Angelique Kerber, whose game has been postponed. In the Louis Armstrong Stadium, in which Kerber was to play her second round match against Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine on Wednesday evening, it rained so heavily from the side, despite a roof, that the game had to be suspended indefinitely.
Masses of water and tornado in New Jersey
In the city of Passaic, New Jersey, an elderly man was caught in his car by the water and drowned, Mayor Hector Lora said on CNN. The fire brigade was able to save two other occupants from the car.
According to media reports, a tornado also damaged several houses in the state of New Jersey. Videos showed covered roofs, destroyed facades and debris flying around. The tornado hit the Gloucester district hard on Wednesday evening, local broadcaster 6abc reported. Two people were slightly injured there. In the village of Kearny, the roof of a post office building collapsed, other reports said.
Governor Phil Murphy promised those affected on Twitter to help rebuild. The storms as a result of hurricane “Ida” had also led to massive power outages, wrote the governor. Around 80,000 households have been affected so far. Additional tornadoes have been reported from the state of Maryland.
“Ida” hit the coast of southern Louisiana on Sunday as a dangerous four-of-five hurricane southwest of New Orleans. After that, the storm weakened and moved further northeast. dpa
