Remnants of Hurricane Ida On Wednesday, the storm hit New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, bringing high winds, heavy rain, and at least one tornado. The roof of the U.S. Postal Service building collapsed and might flood a dam on the way.
The National Weather Service confirmed that at least one tornado and social media posts showed that houses in Mulika Mountain in Southern County, New Jersey, on the outskirts of Philadelphia, were razed to the ground. Other videos showed water flowing through Newark Liberty International Airport when the storm entered New York on Wednesday night.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, tweeted at 10:30 pm that due to severe flooding, all flights were suspended and all parking lots closed. All train services to the airport have also been suspended.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency in the city, warning that “a historic weather event will occur tonight with record-breaking rainfall” and “flooding.”
The National Weather Service recorded that New York’s Central Park had 3.15 inches of rainfall in one hour, far exceeding the 1.94 inches of rainfall in one hour during Tropical Storm Henry on the night of August 22, when people thought it was the heaviest rainfall. It was recorded in the park.
Due to bad weather, the New York City Subway suspended all train services. Trapped commuters on the train Stuck between the stations. Social media videos showed that when the bus was driving on a flooded street, there was at least 1 foot of water inside.
The roof of the Carney Postal Service Building in New Jersey collapsed. There were people inside, a police sergeant. Chris Levchuck said. Rescuers did not arrive at the scene until late at night, and there is no news about the number of people or the severity of the injuries.
Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in all 21 counties in New Jersey and urged people to stay away from flooded roads.
After the water level of a dam near Johnstown reached dangerous levels, heavy rain prompted the evacuation of thousands of people. Johnstown is a small Pennsylvania town nicknamed the City of Floods.
Ada led to the closure of countless schools and businesses in Pennsylvania. Approximately 150 roads maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation were closed, and many smaller roads were also impassable. Thousands of customers still had power outages late on Wednesday night.
There have been several fatal floods in some areas near Johnstown. By mid-afternoon, rainfall reached 5 inches or more. This flood triggered an evacuation order for residents downstream of Wilmore Dam. The nearby Hinckston Run Dam was also monitored, but appeared to be stable by late afternoon.
Both dams are considered high-risk dams, and if they fail, they are likely to kill someone.
He said that the evacuees were taken to a nearby high school with the help of the Red Cross, the National Guard, the local transportation administration and the school transportation service.
The Johnstown flood in 1889 killed 2,200 people. The disaster was attributed to poor maintenance of the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River. It roared a 36-foot-high wall of water into densely populated areas at a speed of 40 mph (65 km/h).
The high water level drove some people out of their homes in Maryland and Virginia. The storm caused the death of a teenager. The whereabouts of the two are unknown. The tornado is believed to have landed along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
The National Weather Service predicts that the remaining part of Hurricane Ida will cause flooding, saying that steep terrain and even city streets are particularly vulnerable to a series of severe weather extending from the Appalachian Mountains to Massachusetts.
The flash floods washed away about 20 houses in the mountains of western Virginia from their foundations and washed away several trailers. About 50 people were rescued there and hundreds were evacuated. The news media reported that in the hilly community of Hurley, a person was missing.
When workers arrived at an apartment building in Rockville, Maryland on Wednesday, the water almost reached the ceiling of the basement. Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said on Wednesday that a 19-year-old man was found dead, another is missing, and about 200 people in 60 apartments near Rock Creek have been displaced.
“For many years, I have never seen such a situation,” Goldstein said.
Tropical Storm Larry is strengthening and moving quickly westward after forming on the coast of Africa early on Wednesday. Forecasters predict that it will rapidly intensify in a manner similar to Ada, becoming a major hurricane with a maximum wind speed of 120 mph (193 km/h) by Saturday. Kate is still a tropical depression and is expected to weaken without threatening land.
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