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Hurricane Ida: At least 46 dead as flash floods hit US states

Biden pledged robust federal help for the states battered by Hurricane Ida

newyorkf New York floods | Reuters

Torrential rains and flash floods caused by Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc along the United States east coast, killing at least 46 people.

At least 23 people died in New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said. At least 13 people were killed in New York City, police said, 11 of them in flooded basement apartments. Suburban Westchester County reported three deaths. Officials said at least five people died in Pennsylvania, including one killed by a falling tree and another who drowned in his car after helping his wife to escape. A Connecticut state police sergeant, Brian Mohl, perished after his cruiser was swept away. Another death was reported in Maryland.

The National Hurricane Centre had warned since Tuesday of the potential for “significant and life-threatening flash flooding" and major river flooding in the mid-Atlantic region and New England. However, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the storm's strength took them by surprise. Hochul, on Wednesday, declared a state of emergency.

Storm Ida also slammed the southern state of Louisiana bringing severe flooding and tornado. In New York, Queens and Brooklyn were badly hit. Flights were cancelled at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports.

President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged robust federal help for the states battered by Hurricane Ida. Ida was the fifth-most powerful storm to strike the U.S. when it hit Louisiana on Sunday with maximum winds of 150 mph (240 kph), likely causing tens of billions of dollars in flood, wind and other damage, including to the electrical grid. More than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi remained without power after Ida toppled a major transmission tower and knocked out thousands of miles of lines and hundreds of substations. New Orleans was plunged into total darkness; power began returning to parts of the city Wednesday. Biden is set to visit Louisiana on Friday to survey some of the damage.

-with agency inputs

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