“Now we’re in a new world, let’s be forceful,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio, who added that the intensity and frequency of storms are increasing and that the U.S. will have to do many things “differently” and ” quickly “.
More than 20 million people remain warned of flooding as all rainwater flows into streams, creeks and larger rivers. This flood is likely to persist until Friday and some northeastern rivers are expected to remain above the flooding phase over the weekend.
Bhagwandin’s home suffered severe flood damage, but his biggest pain was losing his neighbors, a mother and a son, he said.
Bhagwandin’s husband, Sahadeo, said her neighborhood has had flooding problems before. And officials may be going through times of disaster, but residents there need more action.
“We need a lot of help in this neighborhood and over the years we have been neglected. I came here in 2003 and from 2003 to 2021 we flooded and nothing has been done,” Sahadeo Bhagwandin said. “We have several projects that have been completed on this blog, but it is not solving the problem we have.”
Ida first made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Sunday with the force of a Category 4 hurricane. And, although it had weakened to the remnants of a tropical depression, it still had a strong blow when it enter Wednesday afternoon in densely populated northeast.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wants answers.
But part of ensuring it doesn’t happen again is fighting climate change, Hochul said. He advocated a continued transition to the state toward carbon-neutral energy.
“We have no choice, my friends, whose future we are talking about in terrible terms, that future is now. It is happening, we are losing our lives, we are losing property and we cannot continue on this path.”
25 homes destroyed or damaged by tornadoes in New Jersey
At least eight tornadoes were confirmed in northeastern Wednesday: four in Pennsylvania, three in New Jersey and one in southeastern Massachusetts, according to storm surveys conducted by the National Weather Service.
In New Jersey, the tornado at Mullica Hill has been classified as EF-3 with winds of 150 mph, according to the National Meteorological Service’s damage survey.
The tornado severely destroyed or damaged 25 homes, Lt. David Marrow said.
Hundreds of trees were felled and power was cut for a third of South Jersey’s township, Marrow said.
“This will take a while to dig up, there is no doubt about it,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in front of one of the destroyed houses.
As terrifying as tornadoes were, none of the state’s 23 storm deaths were related to them, Murphy said, adding that he believes residents took the flood warnings less seriously than the warnings. of tornado.
“Tornado warnings came out just like flood warnings,” Murphy said. “Everyone, when they received the tornado warning, went into the basement and I think there were too many people who thought they could cope with the floods and sadly some of them at home or in the car lost their lives. “.
People standing to make sure they weren’t drowning on the bus
The danger of floodwaters became apparent in New York City, where the police department conducted 69 aquatic rescues and 166 non-aquatic rescues, said department head Rodney Harrison.
More than 800 subway drivers were evacuated, New York City Police Department Chief Rodney Harrison said Thursday. And another 500 New Yorkers were rescued from flooded roads, buildings and subway stations, the New York City Department of Emergency Management said.
In the chaos, New York bus driver Rosa Amonte went viral overnight after driving passengers to safety, even when water feet filled the bus.
“People literally stand to make sure they don’t drown inside a bus,” Hochul said. “He stayed there, drove all night and did what it took for people to get there safely.”
CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia, Laura Ly, Mirna Alsharif, Liam Reily, Taylor Ward, Rob Frehse and Raja Razek contributed to this report.