After bringing horrific damage to Louisiana, Hurricane Ida made its way to the Northeast, leaving parts of NYC absolutely flooded.
Wednesday night the National Weather Service declared NYC’s first-ever flash flood emergency in response to Hurrican Ida. A flash flood emergency is a rare occurrence when a flash flood turns into a life-threatening situation and poses catastrophic damage. The more commonly known flash flood warning differs as less of an extremity, occurring when flash flooding may disrupt homes, roads, and business.
For clarity on the difference between a regular Flash Flood Warning and the Flash Flood Emergencies we've issued earlier tonight… This was an exceedingly rare event with 6-10" of rainfall falling over a several hour period. Take these warnings (and emergencies) seriously!! https://t.co/Ct8maYpgda
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) September 2, 2021
Soon following, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency as massive flooding and record breaking rain hit NYC.
I’m declaring a state of emergency in New York City tonight.
We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) September 2, 2021
Heartbreaking updates are following the death toll caused by Hurricane Ida, with NBC News most recently reporting up to 42 dead as a result.
Subway systems experienced a historic amount of torrential rain that flooded stations and caused major disruptions to train services. This resulted in subway train evacuations and other transportation lines such as Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road shutting down or suspending service last night.
At 12:35 a.m. Thursday, September 2nd, the MTA released a statement in a press release saying, “Our concern is for those who were in trains stuck after up to six inches of rain fell within hours, and top priority is working with first responders to safely evacuate everyone from the system….We will be deploying maximum pump capacity and surging workers into the system when it’s safe so that as this epic storm abates, service can be restored as soon as possible.”
According to the Times, just between a single-hour last night, “Central Park recorded 3.15 inches of rain, smashing a record set only last week, when 1.94 inches of rain fell in the park during Tropical Storm Henri.”
In total, Hurricane Ida resulted in 7. 19 inches of rain flooding Central Park, as reported by Storm Team 4 NY.
Updated storm totals in & around NYC…
💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧#rainfall #totals #NBC4NY pic.twitter.com/1RGpGwmt1P— Storm Team 4 NY (@StormTeam4NY) September 2, 2021
NYers should be aware that mass transit is running with very limited service. A travel advisory is still in place, encouraging NYers to avoid non-emergency travel.
There is a Travel Advisory in effect. All non-emergency vehicles are advised to stay off of NYC streets and highways while clean-up continues. Stay home as much as possible today until conditions improve. pic.twitter.com/CXjrossIPw
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) September 2, 2021
Furthermore, thousands of power outages were observed across the Northeast region last night and the NYC Emergency Management is encouraging anyone affected by the storm to report damages to their neighborhood here.