Hurricane Ida hit the United States on August 29. The powerful storm slammed the state of Louisiana. It caused great damage across the South. Ida weakened as the storm moved north. But the storm was still dangerous. On Wednesday night, Ida dumped record levels of rain across the Northeast. That caused historic floods.
The flooding greatly affected New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Other states, including Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, reported heavy flooding as well. In some places, the high water levels turned streets into rivers. That was happening across the New York City area.
In one hour, 3.15 inches (8 cm) of rain fell in Central Park. The record for the New York City park had been 1.94 inches (5 cm), set 11 days ago. That rainfall caused the first-ever emergency in the city. On Wednesday, as roads overflowed, many people got stuck in their cars. The flooding also forced subways and airports to close.
New York’s and New Jersey’s governors declared a state of emergency. The leaders asked people to keep off the roads and stay in safe places. Workers helped to rescue people in need. Some even used boats. Sadly, at least 20 people died.
The storm also affected Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “The flooding here is shocking,” said Timothy Abel. “It reminds me of Houston from Hurricane Harvey not long ago,” he added. Abel snapped photos of the Schuylkill River overtopping its banks. The river reached its highest point since at least 1902. Abel told News-O-Matic there was “ flooding.”
Ida has now moved away from the Northeast. However, people are still feeling its effects. Nearly 1 million people in Louisiana do not have power. Many thousands are also without electricity across the Northeast. Workers are trying to clean up the mess.
Updated September 2, 2021, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
