Death toll tops 25 after Ida remnants slam stunned Northeast

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN, DAVID PORTER and JENNIFER PELTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — A stunned U.S. East Coast faced a rising decease toll, surging rivers, tornado harm and continuing calls for rescue Thursday aft the remnants of Hurricane Ida walloped the portion with record-breaking rain, drowning much than 2 twelve radical successful their homes and cars.

In a portion that had been warned astir perchance deadly flash flooding but hadn’t braced for specified a stroke from the no-longer-hurricane, the tempest killed astatine slightest 26 radical from Maryland to New York connected Wednesday nighttime and Thursday morning.

At slightest 12 radical died successful New York City, constabulary said, 1 of them successful a car and 11 successful flooded basement apartments that often service arsenic comparatively affordable homes successful 1 of the nation’s astir costly lodging markets. Officials said astatine slightest 8 died successful New Jersey and 3 successful Pennsylvania’s suburban Montgomery County; 1 was killed by a falling tree, 1 drowned successful a car and different successful a home.

In New York City, Sophy Liu roused her lad from bed, enactment connected a beingness overgarment connected him and squeezed him into an inflatable swimming ringing arsenic their first-floor flat flooded successful Queens.

Unable to unfastened the doorway against the unit of the water, she called friends for help. The h2o was astir 5 feet (1.5 meters) precocious erstwhile they came to her rescue, she said.

“I was evidently scared, but I had to beryllium beardown for my son. I had to calm him down,” she recalled Thursday arsenic aesculapian examiners removed 3 bodies from a location down the street.

In different portion of Queens, h2o rapidly filled Deborah Torres’ first-floor flat to her knees arsenic her landlord frantically urged her neighbors beneath — who included a babe — to get out, she said. But the h2o rushed successful truthful powerfully that she surmised they weren’t capable to unfastened the door. The 3 residents died.

“I person nary words,” she said. “How tin thing similar this happen?”

Ida’s remnants maintained a soggy core, past merged with a much accepted tempest beforehand and dropped an onslaught of rainfall connected the Interstate 95 corridor, meteorologists said. Similar upwind has followed hurricanes before, but experts said it was somewhat exacerbated by clime alteration — warmer aerial holds much rainfall — and municipality settings, wherever expansive pavement prevents h2o from seeping into the ground.

The National Hurricane Center had warned since Tuesday of the imaginable for “significant and life-threatening flash flooding” and mean and large stream flooding successful the mid-Atlantic portion and New England.

Still, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the storm’s spot took them by surprise.

“We did not cognize that betwixt 8:50 and 9:50 p.m. past night, that the heavens would virtually unfastened up and bring Niagara Falls level of h2o to the streets of New York,” said Hochul, a Democrat who became politician past week aft erstwhile Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned.

De Blasio, besides a Democrat, said he’d gotten a forecast Wednesday of 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) of rainfall implicit the people of the day. The city’s Central Park ended up getting 3.15 inches conscionable successful 1 hour, surpassing the erstwhile recorded precocious of 1.94 inches (5 cm) successful 1 hr during Tropical Storm Henri connected Aug. 21.

The tempest yet dumped implicit 9 inches (23 cm) of rainfall successful parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and astir arsenic overmuch connected New York City’s Staten Island.

In Washington, President Joe Biden assured Northeast residents that national archetypal responders were connected the crushed to assistance cleanable up aft the latest catastrophe successful 2 weeks of chaotic upwind crossed the U.S. Wildfires are threatening Lake Tahoe, and Ida struck Louisiana arsenic the fifth-strongest tempest to ever deed the U.S. mainland, leaving 1 cardinal radical without power, possibly for weeks.

As its remnants deed New York, immoderate highways flooded, garbage bobbed successful h2o rushing down the streets and h2o cascaded into the city’s subway tunnels, trapping astatine slightest 17 trains and forcing the cancelation of work passim the nighttime and aboriginal morning. Videos online showed riders lasting connected seats successful cars filled with water. All riders were evacuated safely, officials said.

At 1 Queens development, h2o filled the sunken patio of a basement apartment, past broke done a solid doorway and rushed in, trapping a 48-year-old pistillate successful 6 feet (2 meters) of water. Neighbors unsuccessfully tried for an hr to prevention her.

“She was screaming, ‘Help me, assistance me, assistance me!’ We each came to her aid, trying to get her out. But it was truthful beardown – the thrust of the h2o was truthful strong,” said the building’s adjunct superintendent, Jayson Jordan.

In Elizabeth, New Jersey, adjacent Newark Airport, 4 radical died and 600 were near stateless from rainfall and stream flooding successful an flat complex, Mayor J. Christian Bollwage said.

Neighbors described proceeding screaming from the analyzable astatine astir 11 p.m. arsenic h2o flowed down the street, pushing dumpsters and cars around.

“Sandy had thing connected this,” nonmigratory Jennifer Vilchez said, referring to 2012′s Superstorm Sandy.

Greg Turner, who lives successful different portion of the city, said his 87-year-old parent started calling 911 from the analyzable astatine 8 p.m. erstwhile the h2o started rising successful her apartment. He said helium and his member tried to unreserved to her rescue, but the h2o was excessively high.

By adjacent to midnight, the h2o was up to her neck, helium said. Rescuers yet were capable to chopped done the level of the flat supra and propulsion her to safety.

“She mislaid everything,” Turner said arsenic helium headed to a slope to get wealth to bargain his parent immoderate apparel and shoes.

Elsewhere successful New Jersey, flooding killed 2 radical successful Hillsborough, 2 successful Bridgewater, and 1 successful Milford Borough, wherever authorities recovered a man’s assemblage a car buried up to its hood successful ungraded and rocks, authorities said.

The ferocious tempest besides spawned tornadoes, including 1 that tore disconnected portion of a precocious schoolhouse extortion successful suburban Philadelphia and different that ripped isolated homes and toppled silos successful Mullica Hill, New Jersey, southbound of Philadelphia.

“It conscionable came done and ripped,” said nonmigratory Jeanine Zubrzycki, 33, who hid successful her basement with her 3 children arsenic the location shook and lights flickered. When the information passed, they went upstairs and saw a neighbor’s location had been destroyed.

“And past you could conscionable perceive radical crying,” said Zubrzycki, 33, whose ain location was damaged but liveable.

Record flooding on the Schuylkill River successful Pennsylvania inundated homes, highways and commercialized buildings, adjacent arsenic meteorologists warned that rivers apt won’t crest for a fewer much days. The riverside assemblage of Manayunk remained mostly nether water.

The Schuyilkill reached levels not seen successful implicit 100 years successful Philadelphia, wherever firefighters were inactive getting calls astir insignificant gathering collapses and radical stuck successful flooded cars Thursday morning, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said. The managers of a 941-unit flat analyzable adjacent the stream ordered residents to evacuate, citing “deteriorating” conditions aft h2o rushed into the parking store and excavation areas.

In suburban Bucks County, rushing floodwaters pinned a rescue vessel against a span pier, and respective firefighters had to beryllium rescued themselves and were taken to a infirmary for evaluation, authorities exigency absorption manager Randy Padfield said.

A flash flood informing continued into Thursday successful New England, wherever an on-duty Connecticut authorities trooper was swept distant successful his cruiser and aboriginal taken to a hospital, authorities constabulary and section authorities said. Authorities utilized boats to rescue 18 radical from a flooded vicinity successful Plainville, Connecticut, and 15 radical — including 1 who uses a wheelchair — from a flooded analyzable successful North Kingstown, Rhode Island. A roadworthy successful Portsmouth, Rhode Island, crumbled.

Parts of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, wherever 2,200 radical died aft an infamous dam nonaccomplishment successful 1889, were evacuated for a clip Wednesday aft h2o reached unsafe levels astatine a dam adjacent the city. An authoritative said aboriginal Wednesday that the h2o levels adjacent the dam were receding.

In Frederick County, Maryland, archetypal responders utilized a vessel to rescue 10 children and a operator from a schoolhouse autobus caught successful rising flood waters. The county’s schoolhouse superintendent apologized for not dismissing students earlier, The Frederick News-Post reported.

The Atlantic hurricane play is acold from over. Larry became a hurricane Thursday morning, forecast to rapidly intensify. The National Hurricane Center successful Miami said it’s moving westbound but remains acold from immoderate coast.

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Porter reported from Elizabeth, New Jersey. AP reporters Bobby Caina Calvan, Karen Matthews and Jennifer Peltz successful New York City; Maryclaire Dale successful Mullica Hill, New Jersey; Seth Borenstein and Darlene Superville successful Washington; Michael Catalini and Shawn Marsh successful Trenton, New Jersey; Wayne Parry successful Point Pleasant, New Jersey; Michael Rubinkam successful northeastern Pennsylvania, Claudia Lauer successful Philadelphia and Mark Scolforo successful Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.