New York under water – 44 dead!

Never before have there been such heavy downpours in New York: A storm of historic proportions paralyzed the city and flooded streets and apartments. The metropolis declared a state of emergency – a tornado raged on the other side of the Hudson.

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State of emergency on the US East Coast: The foothills of Hurricane “Ida” have brought New York the heaviest rain since records began. Around 80 millimeters of rain fell in Central Park in Manhattan in just one hour, according to the National Weather Service. Authorities say at least 44 people have died in the New York metropolitan area.

Overall, well over 200 millimeters fell in some parts of the region – that’s about twice as much as the average for Germany for all of July. The storm even surpassed the previous rain record set by tropical storm “Henri” just over a week ago with 49 millimeters for 60 minutes.

Overall, the summer of 2021 in New York is not only very hot and sunny, but also the rainiest in its history.

In the city of Passaic, New Jersey, an elderly man was surprised in his car by the flooding and drowned, Mayor Hector Lora told US broadcaster CNN. The fire department was able to save two other occupants from the car.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency, writing on Twitter: “We are witnessing a historic weather event tonight with record rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our streets.”

People should take shelter in houses and not on the streets to allow the rescue workers to work.

The city is also imposing a travel ban within the metropolis. A notice said: “All non-emergency vehicles must be off NYC streets and freeways.”

De Blasio continued: “Stay away from the subway. Stay off the streets. Don’t drive into these severe floods.”

About 5,300 households are without electricity. It was initially unclear whether people were injured or died in the storm. On Wednesday evening, the authorities in New York and its environs warned of severe storms, life-threatening floods and even tornadoes.

A short time later, so much rain fell over the city that streets turned into rivers and people sometimes stood knee-deep in water. All subway lines had to stop service in the meantime – many people were stuck in the carriages.

Water also entered a subway station with the force of a flash tide, as pictures showed.

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The extreme weather also hit the US Open that was taking place and the German tennis player Angelique Kerber, whose game was postponed.

In the Louis Armstrong Stadium, where Kerber was supposed to play her second round match against Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine on Wednesday evening, it rained so heavily from the side despite the badger that the game had to be suspended indefinitely.

Part of the Flushing Meadows site was also flooded, forcing thousands of visitors to either seek shelter or wade through the water.

With dpa

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