Biden: 'The Climate Crisis Is Here'

“The past few days of Hurricane Ida, and the wildfires in the West and the unprecedented flash floods in New York and New Jersey is yet another reminder that these extreme storms and the climate crisis are here,” Biden said.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida ripped through New York, New Jersey and across the Northeast early Thursday, killing at least eight people and triggering tornadoes, thunderstorms and torrential rain that inundated streets and paralyzed transport services.

Video of flooding posted on social media showed major thoroughways, airport terminals, baseball stadiums and subway stations turned into wading pools. Seven people died in Brooklyn and Queens, a police spokesman said. An eighth was killed in Passaic, New Jersey, according to local news outlets. Tornadoes hit Maryland and New Jersey. Mayor Bill de Blasio declared an emergency for New York City, while Governor Kathy Hochul did the same for the state.

“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” de Blasio said in a tweet.

In Manhattan’s Central Park, 3.15 inches (8 centimeters) of rain fell in an hour and as much as 5.2 inches was recorded by 11 p.m., said Rich Otto, a meteorologist with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. Emergency flash flood warnings were posted from Delaware to Massachusetts. The New York Post reported four people had died in Queens and Brooklyn after getting trapped in their basements.

The deluge came less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Henri dumped a record amount of rain on New York City, and is the latest in a string of extreme weather events recorded around the world this year as climate change takes hold. Massive wildfires raging in California have blackened huge swaths of the state, western Canada and Siberia, sending smoke over the North Pole for the first time on record.

Ida smashed into Louisiana on Sunday with record 150-mile-per-hour (241 kilometer) winds, leaving more than 1 million customers across the South, including New Orleans, without electric power and killing at least five people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Northeast has had a particularly wet summer, with the saturated soil leaving the latest rainfall with no place to go. The National Weather Service earlier issued a Flash Flood Emergency for New York City and northeast New Jersey, a rare declaration that exceeds a warning designation. The service said it’s the first time it has sent out one for the region.

The service also issued a tornado warning for Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City, which expired at 9:30 p.m. A flash flood warning remained in place for large parts of Long Island.

De Blasio said bridges and tunnels remained open but roads were flooded around the city, with just the top of some cars peeking out. The city’s fire and police departments are prepared to assist if needed, de Blasio said in an interview on local news station NY1. “The part I’m worried about particularly is folks out on the road.”

The city’s subway system experienced severe service limitations as water poured onto underground platforms in Manhattan. Three branches of the Metro North Rail Road, which connects to the northern suburbs, were suspended, said Tim Minton, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the city’s buses, subways and commuter rail lines. The Long Island Rail Road train service is suspended on all lines between Penn Station and Jamaica and between Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica.