Europe 1 with AFP
modified to
12:12 p.m., September 02, 2021
At least seven people died in the floods that hit New York overnight from Wednesday to Thursday after the passage of storm Ida. A little earlier the governor of the state had declared a state of emergency in the face of this “historic meteorological event”.
At least seven people died in the floods that occurred overnight from Wednesday to Thursday in New York (United States) in the wake of Hurricane Ida, announced police sources. These deaths bring the total toll to at least 15 dead since Ida made landfall on Sunday in Louisiana (south).
Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York State, and Bill de Blasio, the outgoing mayor of the American economic and cultural capital, have declared a “state of emergency” following these massive floods which potentially affect some 20 millions of inhabitants.
A “historic weather event”
Streets were transformed into rivers in places in the American economic and cultural capital, while subway stations were also flooded and service interrupted, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages public transport in New York. The US Weather Service (NWS) recorded an all-time record 80mm of rain in one hour in Central Park.
In the middle of the night, the new governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, declared a “state of emergency” following the “major” floods in all the counties bordering the city, potentially affecting some 20 million of inhabitants. Bill de Blasio, the outgoing mayor of New York, already bruised by the Covid-19 pandemic, deplored in a tweet a “historic meteorological event”, also declaring “a state of emergency”.
Hundreds of flights have been canceled at New York’s Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports. A video showed a flooded terminal in Newark. According to the NWS, this state of emergency due to flash floods is a first in the history of the megalopolis, already hit in October 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. Waterspouts fell from 9:30 p.m. Wednesday on New York, where, according to several videos tweeted by the NWS, streets were flooded in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, making vehicle traffic impossible.
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