The Northeast took a surprise shellacking on Wednesday as flash flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit several major cities and led to deaths across the area.
At least 14 deaths were reported in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania following the severe floods. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency for the city, and Gov. Kathy Hochul for the state. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in all 21 counties. At least eight of the deaths in New York City were of people who got trapped in flooded basements.
Several parts of the tri-state area saw up to 8 inches of rain in just 48 hours, leading the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood emergency for New York City for the first time ever.
“This particular warning for NYC is the second time we’ve ever issued a Flash Flood Emergency (It’s the first one for NYC),” the New York office for the weather service tweeted Wednesday night. “The first time we’ve issued a Flash Flood Emergency was for Northeast New Jersey ... an hour ago.”
Tornadoes were also reported in parts of New Jersey and Maryland.
Below, see photos of the devastation and extreme flooding across the Northeast.
Above: Highway 440 is seen flooded in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Thursday, with hundreds of cars stuck in the water after Hurricane Ida left behind flash floods on the east coast.
Two people look on at the flash flooding that Hurricane Ida left behind in Jersey City on Thursday.
A person makes their way in rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida in the Bronx borough of New York City on Wednesday.
People walk through floodwaters on First Street caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Wednesday.
A person walks through floodwaters by a gas station on Newark Street in Hoboken on Wednesday.
Water is pumped from the basement of a business on Noblestown Road in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, during cleanup from flooding.
A man and a child make their way through the flooded Main Street in Pittston, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday.
Ashley Thomas, right, is embraced by her mother, Paula Menzoni, on Thursday after Thomas’ home was severely damaged by a tornado in Mullica Hill, New Jersey.
Homes damaged from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Josephine Lane in Mullica Hill on Thursday.
More homes damaged from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Josephine Lane in Mullica Hill on Thursday.
The Manayunk neighborhood in Philadelphia is seen flooded on Thursday in the aftermath of downpours and high winds left behind by Hurricane Ida.
People inspect flooding in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia on Thursday.
People view a flooded street in Philadelphia on Thursday in the aftermath of Ida.
People look at a flooded street as the Schuylkill River exceeds its bank in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia on Thursday.
Felix Delapuente, a resident of Queens, New York, stands among the flood damage in his basement on Thursday.
A person walks along a flooded street as the Schuylkill River exceeds its bank in the East Falls section of Philadelphia on Thursday.
A man uses garbage bags to keep his pants and feet dry as he crosses a flooded Lester Street in Passaic City, New Jersey, on Thursday.
A woman views the Schuylkill River, which exceeded its bank in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia on Thursday.
Vehicles are under floodwater from the Schuylkill River in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia on Thursday.
A pickup truck drives through a flooded River Drive as water gushes out of a maintenance hole in Passaic City on Thursday.
A man falls off his bike into a flooded street in Hoboken on Thursday.
Waves slam along the shore near high tide as the remnants of Hurricane Ida leave coastal Massachusetts in Scituate on Thursday.
A gas station in the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens is heavily damaged on Thursday after a night of extremely heavy rain in New York City.
Austin Ferdock drinks a beer on Thursday while floating in floodwater that continues to rise over the submerged Vine Street Expressway, Interstate 676.
People look at cars abandoned on the flooded Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx on Thursday.
Cars and trucks are stranded by high water on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx on Thursday.
Residents canoe through floodwater in Manville, New Jersey, on Thursday.
