The death toll from flooding after theremnants of Hurricane Ida pummelled cities in the East rose sharply to 46 onThursday after New Jersey announced at least 23 people had died there.
Dozens have died in six Eastern states —Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia — afterthe storm brought unprecedented rainfall to some areas. The death toll includeda state trooper in Connecticut who was swept away as he responded to a missingperson’s call.
"I'm 50 years old and I've never seenthat much rain ever," said Metodija Mihajlov whose basement of hisManhattan restaurant was flooded with three inches of water.
"It was like living in the jungle, liketropical rain. Unbelievable. Everything is so strange this year," he said.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled atLaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminalinundated by rainwater.
"We're all in this together. The nationis ready to help," President Joe Biden said ahead of a trip Friday to thesouthern state of Louisiana, where Ida earlier destroyed buildings and leftmore than a million homes without power.
- 'Historic weather event' -
Flooding closed major roads across New Jerseyand New York boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens, submergingcars and forcing the fire department to rescue hundreds of people.
At least 13 people lost their lives in NewYork City, along with three in suburban Westchester County, and New JerseyGovernor Phil Murphy said in a tweet at least 23 people from that state hadperished in the storm.
The National Weather Service confirmed twotree-snapping tornadoes also struck Maryland on Wednesday, one in Annapolis andanother Baltimore. A 19-year-old was reported to have died after trying torescue his mother from a flooded apartment in Rockville, Maryland, according tothe Washington Post.
The damage came three days after Ida, one ofthe most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the U.S. Gulf Coast, made landfallon Sunday in Louisiana, destroying entire communities.
But the loss of life in the Northeast dwarfedthe confirmed storm-related death toll of nine in Louisiana.