A stunned U.S. East Coast faced a rising death toll, surging rivers and tornado damage Thursday after the remnants of Hurricane Ida walloped the region with record-breaking rain, drowning more than 40 people in their homes and cars.
In a region that had been warned about potentially deadly flash flooding but hadn't braced for such a blow from the no-longer-hurricane, the storm killed at least 46 people from Maryland to Connecticut on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Ida's soggy remnants merged with a storm front and soaked the Interstate 95 corridor, meteorologists said. Similar weather has followed hurricanes before, but experts said it was slightly exacerbated by climate change - warmer air holds more rain - and urban settings, where expansive pavement prevents water from seeping into the ground.
In New York, nearly 500 vehicles were abandoned on flooded highways, garbage bobbed in streaming streets and water cascaded into the city's subway tunnels, trapping at least 17 trains and disrupting service all day.
On Sunday, Ida struck Louisiana as the fifth-strongest storm to ever hit the U.S. mainland, leaving 1 million people without power, maybe for weeks.
Sam Catrambone clears debris away from a friend's home that was damaged by a tornado in Mullica Hill, New Jersey on September 2, 2021 after record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area. | AFP
This handout picture courtesy of Dave Lucas shows a flooded parking structure in Southwest Hoboken, New Jersey, after a night of high winds and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 2, 2021 | AFP
Lafitte:A barge damages a bridge that divides Lafitte, La., and Jean Lafitte, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Lafitte, La. | AFP
A car sits on a flooded driveway of a house following a night of heavy wind and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 02, 2021 in in Mamaroneck, New York. | AFP
Homes destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Ida are shown September 2, 2021 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. | AFP
At least seven people died in New York City on Wednesday night as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall swept through the area with the remnants of Storm Ida. | AFP
Commuters walk into a flooded 3rd Avenue / 149th st subway station and disrupted service due to extremely heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 2, 2021, in the Bronx borough of New York City. | AFP
A man walks through a flooded Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx as dozens of cars and trucks sit abandoned following as night of heavy wind and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 02, 2021 in New York City. | AFP
Homes destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Ida are shown in addition to a submerged automobile September 2, 2021 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. | AFP
A downed tree blocks pedestrians and traffic in Manhattan following a night of heavy wind and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 2, 2021 in New York City. | AFP
rain tracks are flooded in the Bronx following a night of heavy wind and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 2, 2021 in New York City. | AFP
With inputs from PTI.
