At least 43 people in the Northeast were killed as the remnants of Hurricane Ida caused torrential rain, devastating floods and tornadoes overnight. Rescue teams in Pennsylvania spent hours Thursday using boats to reach people stranded by floodwaters, and similar rescues played out in the New York City suburbs.
At least one tornado rolled through the southern part of New Jersey, ripping the sides off some homes and turning others into rubble.
“An extraordinary, sadly tragic, historic 24 hours in New Jersey, there’s no other way to put it,” the state’s governor, Phil Murphy, told reporters. In his state alone, 23 people died due to the storm.
Wednesday night was the first time the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for New York City, where officials said the storm was responsible for at least 13 deaths.
The city’s entire subway system was shut down overnight. Water gushed into some stations and onto trains filled with passengers.
“Everything is electrified, so one false step, a passenger, or anyone, could be electrocuted,” a conductor said.
