Storm Ida brings heavy rain, flash floods to New York City

New Yorkers were inundated by heavy rain and flash flooding early Thursday as Storm Ida wreaked havoc on the northeast US, forcing flight cancellations and state of emergency declarations.

Ida slammed into the southern state of Louisiana over the weekend, bringing severe flooding and tornadoes as it blazed a trail of destruction north.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as the remnants of the storm caused massive flooding in the country’s financial and cultural capital, leaving the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens badly hit.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet as he declared a state of emergency in the city.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at nearby Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports and flooding has closed major roads across multiple boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.

Streets were transformed into rivers while the city’s subway stations were also flooded, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported service would be effectively shut down.

As footage showed cars submerged on streets across the city, authorities urged residents not drive on flooded roads.

“You do not know how deep the water is and it is too dangerous,” the New York branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet. “Turn Around Don’t Drown.”

The city earlier issued a rare flash flood emergency warning urging residents to move to higher ground.

“Significant and life-threatening flash flooding is likely from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England,” the NWS said in a bulletin, adding that three to eight inches of rain could drench the region through Thursday.

State governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in neighbouring New Jersey, where CNN reported at least one person was killed by the flooding in the city of Passaic, bringing the death toll from Ida to eight.

In Annapolis, 50km from the US capital, a tornado ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles.

Lingering tornado threat

The NWS warned the threat of tornadoes would linger, with tornado watches in effect for parts of southern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southern New York.

“This is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly flash flooding ongoing in Somerset County, as well as others in the area,” the NWS account for the Philadelphia metropolitan area tweeted late Wednesday, along with a video of a car trapped in churning water.

Ida is expected to continue steaming north and bring heavy rainfall on Thursday to New England, which was also hit by a rare tropical storm in late August.

US President Joe Biden is due to travel Friday to Louisiana, where Ida destroyed buildings and left more than a million homes without power.

Hurricanes are common in the southern US, but scientists have warned of a rise in storm activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.