Hurricane Ida leaves damage from south to northeast

At least 49 people died in the northeast, heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, flash floods and tornadoes ravaged the region late Wednesday, saving many. At least 25 people died in New Jersey, and six people are still missing, said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s representative.

In New York, the storm killed 17 people, including 13 in New York City and four in Westchester County. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Friday that President Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration for 14 counties in the state, including New York City. The designation provides federal funding and assistance to affected countries.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the city’s actions before the storm, saying forecasters called for managing 3 to 6 inches of rain on Wednesday. The launch was shattered on Wednesday evening with a record 3.15 inches of rain in an hour in Central Park.

“We haven’t received any alerts saying you’re going to have heavy, unprecedented rain on Wednesday night,” he told a news conference on Friday. “We would obviously have answered this with a completely different approach.”

New York City officials issued a travel advisory Tuesday afternoon, warning of flash floods for all from Wednesday through Thursday. As the storm intensified Wednesday evening, New Yorkers also received flash flood warnings on their cell phones.

The Democratic mayor said the city would take more aggressive moves moving forward, issuing travel-ban warnings and evacuation orders ahead of some weather events. Previously, such measures were designed only for rare events such as a blizzard.

Murphy, a Democrat, said New Jersey residents have received adequate warnings of possible tornadoes and flash floods, depending on the part of the state. “The warning was clear,” he said. “We shouted them through all the channels you’d expect: social media, alerts on our phones, our press conferences.”

There were no deaths from the tornado that lashed South Jersey, and Murphy blamed partly for those calling for shelter. The deaths, which occurred in the central and northern parts of the state, were “due to excessive water, either directly or indirectly, including people in basement apartments, bless their souls,” he said. [and] People who thought they could drive through a ravine.”

One lesson from Ida, he said, is the need to better emphasize how dangerous heavy rains can be. He urged the news media and government officials at all levels to make sure the public realizes that “water can kill you.”

Philadelphia also faced a prolonged recovery from its worst floods since the early 1900s, officials said. The Vine Street Expressway, which runs through the city, still resembles a canal on Friday, as crews continue to pump water from the highway. But the Schuylkill River fell below the flood stage.

Mayor Jim Kenney said the water was receding and roadways were being reopened.

“Large weather events are becoming more and more common in the region, and are an indicator of a worsening climate crisis around the world,” Mr Kenny said.

In Louisiana, where Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, the death toll rose to nine as carbon-monoxide poisoning from portable generators killed three people and killed three nursing-home residents. Happened in a warehouse an hour north of New. Orleans, where he was taken to weather the storm.

State medical director Joe Cantor said more than 800 people had been rescued from the warehouse in Independence, La. They were evacuated from seven other facilities in southeastern Louisiana that were more square in the storm’s path. Those nursing homes were owned or associated with Baton Rouge businessman Bob Dean, according to state and federal records. Mr. Dean did not respond to a request for comment.

Federal records show these for-profit nursing homes are rated poorly, with most receiving just one star on a five-star rating scale.

Dr. Kanter said at a news conference late Thursday that all patients had been evacuated from the warehouse and that federal and state investigators were on the scene. Fourteen people were hospitalized.

“There are just no words,” he said.

State and federal investigators are already monitoring the warehouse, Dr. Cantor said.

Police officers surrounded the warehouse on Friday, guarding it in the heat. There were trees on the roofs of adjoining houses; Many people’s verandahs and storage sheds were damaged. The line for gas stretched for a mile.

Clinton Thompson, a 61-year-old home renovator, stood in her pickup truck a few feet from the warehouse as she waited to see her doctor in hopes of getting her refills.

Mr Thompson said he had followed the warehouse tragedy on the news. “How does that stuff go on and people do nothing?” They said. “It should be a place where you care about someone.”

Ida was a hurricane of epic proportions, with winds of up to 150 mph, when it made landfall in southeastern Louisiana. It took down homes, trees and utility poles and destroyed power grids in southern Louisiana, leaving more than 861,000 people without electricity in the state on Friday, up from more than a million a few days earlier.

Mr Biden traveled to Louisiana on Friday, where he was joined by a Democrat, Gov. John Bel Edwards, for a briefing on the storm with state and local officials.

Mr Biden, who is seeking passage of an infrastructure bill and a broad $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda, used part of the meeting to point out the plan’s benefits as Louisiana recovers. wants to be

“I think we can save a lot of money and a lot of pain, pain for our constituents, that if we build back, we better build it back,” Mr Biden said. “I realize I’m selling like I’m talking about, but it will create really important, well-paying jobs.”

Mr Biden pointed to the resilience of the built-up sector levy system in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina through billions of dollars in federal investment. “It was a lot of money, but think about how much money it saved and how many lives it saved,” he said.

The president later walked through a neighborhood in Laplace, LA, assessed the damage and spoke with families.

Southern Louisiana’s leading electricity provider, Entergy Corp., released new estimates Friday, saying power should be restored in New Orleans and the hard-hit suburbs of Metairie and Kenner by Sept.

Recovery in the scorching heat in Louisiana has been five days. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Friday, as it has for the past several days, warning of a possible heat index of 105 degrees — a reflection of how temperatures feel when factoring in humidity.

Gasoline remains short on Friday, with 65% of stations in New Orleans and 69% in Baton Rouge, according to fuel-and-price tracker GasBuddy.

In New Orleans, sites with food, ice, and tarps for the city’s cooling stations and rooftops have been crowded. The city has opened an emergency first aid center with oxygen tank exchange, basic medical evaluation and some capacity to prescribe medication.

Retired Keith Sanders brings his electric wheelchair to the center to be charged on Thursday. The debtor was sitting in the shade outside, in a wheelchair, smoking a cigarette.

“The last few days have been hell,” said the 63-year-old. “You only need me to marinate because I’m already cooking.”

He said the lack of electricity and hot water has made cooking almost impossible. Mr Sanders, a disabled person, said he needed regular wound care for his leg, but the hospital he visits has been closed and his appointments cancelled.

He said his daughter, who lives in Texas, emailed the mayor’s office to help arrange for him to come to the center to charge his wheelchair. “I was totally worried about getting stuck,” he said.