Ida Takes a Deadly Toll in the Northeast

Emily Crane, Amanda Woods, and Georgett Roberts report that at least 25 people were killed in New York and New Jersey on Wednesday night and Thursday morning as the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through the region, dropping heavy rains and leaving massive floods as it passed.

Basement apartments were one of the least safe places to be during the extreme weather. "Eleven people died in [New York City] after becoming trapped in flooded basement apartments," according to the article, including a 2-year-old boy and his parents in Queens.

"The rising death toll came as a state of emergency was in effect Thursday after the historic downpour knocked out power and flooded streets, homes and subways — prompting the first-ever flash flood warning for the Big Apple."

"The National Weather Service had also issued a tornado warning for parts of the Bronx late Wednesday," according to the article. The response to a flash flood warning (head for high ground) obviously conflicts with the response to a tornado warning (head to your basement).

As of Thursday morning, rescuers were still searching for more stranded people, and the death toll is expected to rise. The deadliest storm in New York State history, Superstorm Sandy, killed 53. The most recent death toll update on the The New York Times website as of this writing was saying that 28 people were killed from flooding caused by Ida in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Back in Louisiana and Alabama, where Ida first made landfall in the United States, the most recent death toll as of this writing was six, with nearly a million residents without power on Wednesday morning.