NEW YORK – The death toll from the remnants of Hurricane Ida’s stunning blast through the Northeast rose to at least 21 Thursday after a wide swath of the region became overwhelmed by fierce downpours and localized flooding.
At least nine people died in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Eight deaths were reported in New Jersey, three in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland.
The downpours turned this city’s streets into rivers and swamped basement and first-floor apartments. The National Weather Service office in New York declared a flash flood emergency, a rare warning for situations where the flooding is “leading to a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that a travel advisory remained in effect, and that all non-emergency vehicles are advised to stay off of city streets while cleanup continued.
“Our hearts ache for the lives lost in last night’s storm,” de Blasio tweeted. “They were our fellow New Yorkers and to their families, your city will be there for you in the days ahead.’
The carnage comes days after Hurricane Ida barreled ashore Sunday in Louisiana packing 150 mph winds. At least six deaths had been reported earlier, including two each in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Power remained out to almost 1 million Louisiana power customers Thursday.
The good news is that Ida has run its course. The center of the storm is a more than 100 miles east of Massachusetts and moving to the northeast, AccuWeather…
