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The death toll from the historic flooding in the Northeast rose to 49 on Friday (September 3). The remnants of Hurricane Ida spawned tornadoes and drenched the Northeast with record-setting rain, causing major flooding across Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that 25 people died and six people were still missing. He told NBC's TODAY that most of the people who lost their lives drowned in their vehicles after they became trapped by the rapidly rising floodwaters. He said that some people drowned in their cars, while others were washed away by the fast-moving water as they tried to exit their vehicles.
In New York, seventeen people died, including 13 in New York City, and five people died in Pennsylvania. A state trooper was killed in Connecticut when his car got swept away by the floodwaters. A 19-year-old man from Maryland died after being displaced from his flooded apartment building.
The New York City Police Department said that they rescued over 800 people during the storm.
Officials in New York City said that eleven of the 13 people who died were living in basement apartments, prompting the Department of Buildings to investigate the living conditions in those apartments.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration in New York and New Jersey, allowing the states to receive federal funds to aid with the cleanup efforts. President Biden is heading to Louisana on Friday to survey the damage the storm caused when it slammed into the Gulf Coast as a powerful Category 4 storm.