Ida triggers massive flooding across Northeast

Four residents drowned in an apartment complex on the Elizabeth River in Elizabeth, New Jersey, overnight Wednesday, according to Mayor Chris Bollwage.

Authorities are not yet naming the deceased, but identified them as a male and female in their 70s and a male and female in their 30s.

CNN reported Wednesday night that one person was killed in Passaic, New Jersey, which brings the New Jersey death total to five.

In other parts of the East Coast, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed 9 deaths and an additional death in Maryland is being preliminary referenced as a storm related death, though the autopsy is pending. The death toll after the flooding now stands at at least 15.

The Elizabeth residents lived in garden level apartments at the rear of the building next to the river, which rose more than eight feet at its height late Wednesday, the mayor said.

The relationships of the deceased is unclear, the mayor said, but the deaths occurred in more than one apartment unit.

The entire complex has been deemed uninhabitable by authorities, displacing about 600 people from their homes, Bollwage said.

The apartment complex is directly across the street from a local fire department headquarters, but rescue efforts were not able to commence for some time due to the swells that also impacted the fire department facility with about four feet of water.

At least 100 people have been rescued from floodwaters in Philadelphia so far as water rescues continue, Adam Thiel, Philadelphia Fire commissioner and director of the Office of Emergency Management, said Thursday.

Philadelphia experienced extreme flooding and damage due to the remnants of former Hurricane Ida, but there have not been any reported casualties due to the storm, Thiel said. However, he noted that first-responders and rescue teams are still working and that their storm response is still “very much an active incident.” 

Thiel added that the flooding that the city experienced Wednesday night into Thursday morning was “historic” and reached levels “not seen in more than 100 years.” The city has been conducting water rescues for the past 15 hours and is expected to continue for at least another 10 to 12 hours, he said. 

He also added that there were several minor building collapses throughout the city overnight, but said this is not uncommon for Philadelphia after a big rainstorm. 

All city offices are closed to the public Thursday due to the ongoing flood hazard, Mayor Jim Kenney said, noting that the city will only be providing “essential services” for the day.

“Extreme weather events like Ida are not isolated incidents,” Kenney said. The mayor added that city officials will continue to take steps to protect Philadelphia “for the climate of the future.”  

While two schools in Philadelphia experienced power outages and are closed Thursday, the majority of schools are open. Decisions on early dismissal for students are still being considered, Schools Superintendent Dr. William Hite said, calling it “an evolving situation.” 

Yes, we knew Ida was taking aim at the Northeast. Yes, we knew there would be deadly flash flooding in the Northeast. Yes, there was an outlook issued by the Weather Prediction Center that predicted this. Yes, there was a flash flood watch issued ahead of time. Yes, there were flash flood emergencies issued.

And yet, we all were a bit stunned.

It wasn't all about the total amount of rain. It was the amount of rainfall within such a small time frame which made the situation that much worse. Ida unleashed a 1 in 500-year rainfall event in just a few hours.

In three hours, 5.2 inches fell from the skies. In one hour, Central Park recorded its wettest hour on record with 3.15 inches from 8:51 to 9:51 p.m. ET. These weather records have been kept in Central Park since 1889.

You may remember that this record was just set less than two weeks ago, the evening of the "We Love NYC" concert, when almost 2 inches fell in one hour.

When you have this much rainfall, places are going to flood in that short amount of time.

Stay updated on extreme weather: Sign up for email alerts from CNN meteorologists and reporters in the field.

The mayor of Mamaroneck, New York, said that "hundreds" of rescues have taken place in his community because of dangerous flooding.

Mayor Tom Murphy said search-and-rescue efforts are focused in one low-lying neighborhood at the confluence of two rivers. The Westchester County town, a suburb of New York City, has a population of about 30,000.

He said "scores" of people still need to be rescued, and advised residents to stay off the roads. He's "hopeful" that Gov. Kathy Hochul will send the National Guard to assist.

"Some areas we couldn't get the equipment in to get people out of the second floor of their homes, because the first floor was inundated," Murphy said.

Murphy said his town was supposed to get an Army Corps of Engineers plan "for at least 10 years now." 

"The plan was developed and it was going to be implemented, but it got killed in the last administration in Washington. So I'm hoping that we could revive that plan under the Biden administration and really get some relief for our residents. You know, many of our residents have suffered through this for years, and they have kind of a PTSD every time they get intense rain ... I don't blame them. A lot of people lost everything they have," Murphy said.  

The governors of New York and New Jersey said improvements in infrastructure are needed after areas of the states experienced widespread, deadly flooding that upended transit systems. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said officials need to look ahead to anticipate storms as the climate crisis produces stronger storms.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said there need to be investments in infrastructure so the city and surrounding areas are better equipped to handle flooding. 

“This is the first time we've had a flash-flood event on this proportion in the city of New York and in the outlying areas. We haven’t experienced this before but we should expect it next time, and that means we have to continue investments in infrastructure, working in partnership with our federal government,” she said. 

“I don’t want this to happen again,” she added. 

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer also underscored the need for “resilient infrastructure.”

“The second deals with climate change and will reduce the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere by 50% by 2030. The first bill deals with infrastructure, and built into that infrastructure is something they have started fostering with [Superstorm] Sandy — that we don't just build infrastructure, but we built resilient infrastructure, so when these floods or fires or anything else occurs, they are much more resistant,” he said. 

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said more people will die if improvements in infrastructure are not addressed to combat climate change.

“Queens needs to see much more infrastructure investment. We cannot wait until tomorrow. We need it today. These lives could have been saved if we had investment that we sorely needed a long time ago,” he said.

“If we do not address climate change, we will continue to lose lives” across the borough and state, Richards added.

CNN's Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this post.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy visited the tornado-damaged Mullica Hill neighborhood in Harrison Township on Thursday morning where he also spoke to media.

Strong winds could be heard while Murphy looked at homes, some of which sustained extreme damage as a result of a tornadoes brought on by Tropical Storm Ida.  

"An extraordinary, sadly tragic, historic 24 hours in New Jersey, there's no other way to put it," said Murphy. "Look on either side of us right now and the impact of these tornadoes that touched down in this county."

Murphy also said he will send in a major disaster declaration request to FEMA on Thursday

Murphy mentioned that there were fatalities, not in Mullica Hill, but in the central and northern parts of the state. He didn't provide any details on the deaths. 

The state will provide information about resources for residents that have been affected by the storm, and the aid will be from a combination of state, federal, and third party agencies like the Red Cross, Murphy said.

"We're with you," said Murphy. "This won't be overnight by the way, this is going to be a longer road than any of us would like but we will not relent and we will stay with it every step of the way." 

There have been at least 11 deaths in Maryland, New York and New Jersey in the wake of storm flooding.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed 9 deaths.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy cited multiple fatalities, without specifying numbers, however CNN has already reported 1 death on record from local authorities

An additional death in Maryland is being preliminary referenced as a storm related death, though the autopsy is pending.

 ##NY#

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, appearing side by side with New York City officials, said she spoke with President Biden today who “guaranteed” full support in the wake of a “devastating” and “record-shattering” storm.

“This is the first time we’ve had a flash flood event of this proportion,” she said.

“We should expect it the next time,” she said.

The governor added that the human loss is “hard to imagine.”

For a state that experienced the devastating shore effects of Sandy, Hochul said that this time around, “where we had a vulnerability is in our streets."

The governor noted that the draining systems need to be enhanced and infrastructure investments are paramount.

“I don’t want this to happen again,” Hochul said.

More than 100 people were rescued in Rockland and Westchester county alone, she said.

The two leaders – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the governor – appearing side by side, is a rare site for New Yorkers who had often seen former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de Blasio compete in dueling news conferences

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer vowed to get all the federal aid that’s needed.

The New York officials spoke at the site where two individuals died in Queens after a partial wall collapsed

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the deadly flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida a "wake-up call" and said officials need to alter the way they approach the "suddenness, the brutality of storms now."

De Blasio referenced the back-to-back storms — first the rain dumped less than two weeks ago by Henri and now the flooding from Ida — the city has endured.

De Blasio called Ida a "horrifying storm last night, unlike anything we have seen before," and he thanked the first responders who rescued people yesterday. He also acknowledged the rescue and clean up work still to be done.

"People are going through hell," he said. "They need help."