Tropical Depression Ida dumped nearly 7 inches of rain on parts of Long Island, leaving downed trees, power outages, and road closures in its wake.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that 6.86 inches of rain fell in Setauket, which was the highest rainfall total on LI, while Nassau’s highest rainfall total was 4.87 inches in Glen Head. The agency had issued a tornado warning for the North Shore of Suffolk County Wednesday night, although it was not immediately clear if a twister touched down. And PSEG-Long Island reported that it restored power to 24,000 customers and there were still more than 6,000 outages.
The remnants of Ida as a post-tropical low prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency for Nassau, Suffolk, and New York City.
The governors of New York and New Jersey declared a state of emergency late on Wednesday as record-breaking rains from tropical storm Ida led to flooding and hazardous conditions on the roads, with media reporting at least nine deaths.
“I am declaring a state of emergency to help New Yorkers affected by tonight’s storm,” Hochul said on Twitter.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio described the flooding and weather on Wednesday night as a “historic weather event.” The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency in New York City for the first time.
At least one person was killed as the flooding inundated the New Jersey city of Passaic, Mayor Hector Lora told CNN.
NBC New York reported that one more person had died in New Jersey and seven had died in New York City, including a 2-year-old boy. Local media reported that people had been trapped in their basements as the storm sent water surging through the city.
Lora said the body of a man in his seventies was retrieved from floodwaters. The vehicle the man was riding in was swept away by the water and firefighters were swept under the vehicle, preventing them from reaching him, CNN reported.
The storm damage from Ida had astounded officials on Wednesday, three days after the powerful hurricane pounded southern Louisiana, and reconnaissance flights revealed entire communities devastated by wind and floods.
-With Reuters
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