Hurricane Ida - Aug 2021

New Posts

From the New York Times:

The 3.15 inches that fell in Central Park in one hour broke a record set only days earlier by Tropical Storm Henri. Across the region, up to nine inches of rain fell in just a few hours. The National Weather Service, struggling to depict the level of danger, declared a flash flood emergency in New York City for the first time.

As unprecedented as the conditions were, climate scientists warn that they herald a new normal on a warmed planet, where hotter air holds more water, making hurricanes like Ida gather strength faster, tornadoes more widespread, and rains heavier.
 
Skigh said:
The flooding sounds horrendous,are any of our own Websleuthers affected?
Click to expand...

I live on the coast in Ocean County and we had some wind and rain but no substantial flooding or wind damage. It appears the major flooding occurred around the I-95 Philadelphia / NJ / NYC corridor and points north in all of the major urban cities in the north Jersey and NYC area.

Tornados were reported in Mullica Hill, Gloucester County, located in south Jersey near Philadelphia.
 
Last edited:
anneg said:
@zecats is in NJ and is OK--hope she will post here.
Click to expand...
My little town took a direct hit from tornadoes last night. It's heartbreaking, and quite frankly shocking, to see some homes a mile north from me flattened by this. This is NJ for Pete's sake. My daughter and SIL live in Hoboken which received 9 inches of rain yesterday and last night. He sent me video of the water leaking in somewhere through windows. I feel so sad for them and everyone affected by Ida and Ida's remnants. Much of Philly has major flooding with the river yet to crest. Unprecedented is the word being thrown around.
 
zecats said:
My little town took a direct hit from tornadoes last night. It's heartbreaking, and quite frankly shocking, to see some homes a mile north from me flattened by this. This is NJ for Pete's sake. My daughter and SIL live in Hoboken which received 9 inches of rain yesterday and last night. He sent me video of the water leaking in somewhere through windows. I feel so sad for them and everyone affected by Ida and Ida's remnants. Much of Philly has major flooding with the river yet to crest. Unprecedented is the word being thrown around.
Click to expand...


I am so sorry to hear how badly your little town has been affected.
It must be absolutely soul destroying to see so much devastation .

I hope your daughter and SIL remain safe and they do not experience flooding in their homes.

Sending hugs.xx
 
Man seen smoking hookah while floating down a flooded NYC alleyway as Ida tears through Big Apple | Daily Mail Online


  • A man was spotted reclining on a pool float and smoking a hookah while floating down a flooded NYC alleyway as if it were a lazy river on Wednesday night
  • He reclined on the raft while drifting in the murky waters, laying his head back and seemingly enjoying himself as the remnants of Ida tore through the Big Apple
  • The footage has already been viewed more than 700,000 times and commenters said they're waiting for 'a pack of swimming subway rats to emerge'
  • Meanwhile the National Weather Service's office in New York issued a Flash Flood Emergency for New York City for the first time ever
  • Hurricane Ida has killed at least 25 people, including eight in New York, among them a two-year-old, man and woman found dead in an apartment in Queens
 
anneg said:
I'm watching video on TV now about Philadelphia flooding...
Click to expand...

Yes, The Vine Street Expressway could have been boathouse row. The Elders all said they never saw anything like it. Think they said it reached it's highest at 22nd Street.

My friend is three blocks from the Delaware River and not a drop even in the cellar. But up in the NE my friend a block away called me for help. He and a few neighbors had the garages and basements flooded. However there was electricity for the Shop Vac. Air Condition. Cold water in the fridge. We are Blessed.

Memes are out calling us "PHITALY" cause the Vine is a canal. Oh "Take a JAWNDOLA WOODER cruise". One chucklehead floated down the Vine on a raft. Of course.

Thankfully we're fine. I am just so very sorry for everyone who has been devastated and misplaced here on our WS community. You're in my prayers.
 
Last edited:
Filly said:
Yes, The Vine Street Expressway could have been boathouse row. The Elders all said they never saw anything like it. Think they said it reached it's highest at 22nd Street.

My friend is three blocks from the Delaware River and not a drop even in the cellar. But up in the NE my friend a block away called me for help. He and a few neighbors had the garages and basements flooded. However there was electricity for the Shop Vac. Air Condition. Cold water in the fridge. We are Blessed.

Memes are out calling us "PHITALY" cause the Vine is a canal. Oh "Take a JAWNDOLA WOODER cruise". One chucklehead floated down the Vine on a raft. Of course.

Thankfully we're fine. I am just so very sorry for everyone who has been devastated and misplaced here on our WS community. You're in my prayers.
Click to expand...

My little town was all over the news yesterday due to historic flooding in the downtown area. I was incredibly fortunate to be mostly unaffected since I live on a hill above the most populated downtown area, the latter of which is filled with charming shops, cozy cafes, historic row homes, gorgeously restored Victorians, and grand old mansions. Everyone here (myself among them) apparently disregarded the predictions for heavy rains, which I think is partially from a “boy who cried wolf” mindset; every time there’s even a chance that the Delaware River and its tributaries will rise, residents are advised by city/town governments to take precautions that, 9 times out of 10, are totally unnecessary because the waterways end up not rising any significant amount. So it seems likely that most people (unfortunately) assumed that would be the case again. The waters rose FAST, though, which is the other reason the devastation is so great here—one apartment complex apparently was fine for about an hour after the rain began to fall heavily, and sometime in the next 20-30 minutes, a nearby creek breached its banks and totally flooded the first floor units and stairwells, leaving people trapped on the second story until early this morning (and the electric company here, JCP&L, didn’t cut power to anyone, so would-be rescuers were unable to attempt to get folks out in boats, lest they touch electrified water. Many people here have lost everything; some of even the “lucky”/less affected people in town have had their cars ruined by floodwaters. You can see our poor little town in the slideshow here: https://www.nj.com/news/2021/09/a-wall-of-water-from-ida-devastated-this-nj-river-town.html
 
realanastasia said:
My little town was all over the news yesterday due to historic flooding in the downtown area. I was incredibly fortunate to be mostly unaffected since I live on a hill above the most populated downtown area, the latter of which is filled with charming shops, cozy cafes, historic row homes, gorgeously restored Victorians, and grand old mansions. Everyone here (myself among them) apparently disregarded the predictions for heavy rains, which I think is partially from a “boy who cried wolf” mindset; every time there’s even a chance that the Delaware River and its tributaries will rise, residents are advised by city/town governments to take precautions that, 9 times out of 10, are totally unnecessary because the waterways end up not rising any significant amount. So it seems likely that most people (unfortunately) assumed that would be the case again. The waters rose FAST, though, which is the other reason the devastation is so great here—one apartment complex apparently was fine for about an hour after the rain began to fall heavily, and sometime in the next 20-30 minutes, a nearby creek breached its banks and totally flooded the first floor units and stairwells, leaving people trapped on the second story until early this morning (and the electric company here, JCP&L, didn’t cut power to anyone, so would-be rescuers were unable to attempt to get folks out in boats, lest they touch electrified water. Many people here have lost everything; some of even the “lucky”/less affected people in town have had their cars ruined by floodwaters. You can see our poor little town in the slideshow here: https://www.nj.com/news/2021/09/a-wall-of-water-from-ida-devastated-this-nj-river-town.html
Click to expand...
I'm sorry for all that you and your town went through. I love that little town too and the bike path along the canal, and New Hope across the river. I have a friend who has a house there too, though she spends more time at the Jersey Shore in her other house.
I take tornado warnings seriously enough each and every time we have one (not that often, but more so now) and I put myself and my 2 cats in the basement right away. DH takes his time as the man in him seems to want to check things out first. He did come down with me and we actually sensed it passing us by (not directly over us). We could see out the two tiny windows that the wind was really blowing and we heard a crash, which turned out to be a large tree limb falling on and breaking a birdbath. Lots of branches down and planters turned over. Nothing like what some nearby neighborhoods experienced.
After reading about the path and seeing the nearby damage, it definitely shook me. Turns out it was an EF-3 tornado, wind speeds up to 150mph. Again - in Jersey? And all so random :(
 
zecats said:
I'm sorry for all that you and your town went through. I love that little town too and the bike path along the canal, and New Hope across the river. I have a friend who has a house there too, though she spends more time at the Jersey Shore in her other house.
I take tornado warnings seriously enough each and every time we have one (not that often, but more so now) and I put myself and my 2 cats in the basement right away. DH takes his time as the man in him seems to want to check things out first. He did come down with me and we actually sensed it passing us by (not directly over us). We could see out the two tiny windows that the wind was really blowing and we heard a crash, which turned out to be a large tree limb falling on and breaking a birdbath. Lots of branches down and planters turned over. Nothing like what some nearby neighborhoods experienced.
After reading about the path and seeing the nearby damage, it definitely shook me. Turns out it was an EF-3 tornado, wind speeds up to 150mph. Again - in Jersey? And all so random :(
Click to expand...

Wow--so scary to be so close to where the tornado tore up homes!
 
realanastasia said:
My little town was all over the news yesterday due to historic flooding in the downtown area. I was incredibly fortunate to be mostly unaffected since I live on a hill above the most populated downtown area, the latter of which is filled with charming shops, cozy cafes, historic row homes, gorgeously restored Victorians, and grand old mansions. Everyone here (myself among them) apparently disregarded the predictions for heavy rains, which I think is partially from a “boy who cried wolf” mindset; every time there’s even a chance that the Delaware River and its tributaries will rise, residents are advised by city/town governments to take precautions that, 9 times out of 10, are totally unnecessary because the waterways end up not rising any significant amount. So it seems likely that most people (unfortunately) assumed that would be the case again. The waters rose FAST, though, which is the other reason the devastation is so great here—one apartment complex apparently was fine for about an hour after the rain began to fall heavily, and sometime in the next 20-30 minutes, a nearby creek breached its banks and totally flooded the first floor units and stairwells, leaving people trapped on the second story until early this morning (and the electric company here, JCP&L, didn’t cut power to anyone, so would-be rescuers were unable to attempt to get folks out in boats, lest they touch electrified water. Many people here have lost everything; some of even the “lucky”/less affected people in town have had their cars ruined by floodwaters. You can see our poor little town in the slideshow here: https://www.nj.com/news/2021/09/a-wall-of-water-from-ida-devastated-this-nj-river-town.html
Click to expand...

Oh no. I am so sorry @realanastasia . I realized from your description where you lived without checking the link.

Such a gorgeous and unique town. A great mix. We were up to Hopewell Farms and then to your flea market every weekend when my daughter was small. My dad dreamed of owning one of those Victorians.

Please stay safe. I know they're watching across the little bridge from you. It's apparent your heart is broken. It is no wonder. Truly sorry you are hurting.
 
How sad! There’s a lot of work ahead for NYC to address this problem. I appreciate the compassion shown toward those (mostly immigrants) who live in these basement apartments…

New York City's illegally converted apartments proved deadly in Ida's path - CNN

Most of the homes where residents were found dead in New York City after theremnants of Ida battered the region were illegally converted basement or cellar apartments, city officials said Friday.

An analysis that was done by the city's buildings department in the aftermath of Wednesday's massive flooding showed that five of the six structures were illegal -- and were also the location where 10 of the city's 13 victims were found.

The victims included a 2-year-old boy who was found dead with both his parents in their makeshift home, officials said.
<snip>
De Blasio said the city tried a pilot program to bring illegal conversions up to code but the endeavor saw little progress and proved costly, he said.

The plan now is to work with community groups to do outreach with residents who may be undocumented or speak other languages, to let them know that asking for help will not lead to deportation or eviction, the mayor said. In addition, officials will work to get a proper count up of how many illegal structures exist in the city and then work to bring them up to code. The city estimates there are roughly 50,000 illegal basement apartments in New York City.

But in the meantime, officials will work to let residents know they can call 911 without fear of backlash.

"If you're in any danger at all, call 911, and never wonder if your documentation status will be asked. It will not be. Never wonder if there'll be any threat to the place that you live in. If you call because you're in danger, we want to save lives," de Blasio said. "We're not here to make people vulnerable."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 165 more.
Total: 4,428 (members: 166, guests: 4,262)

Online statistics

Members online
166
Guests online
4,262
Total visitors
4,428
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,607
Messages
17,971,659
Members
228,842
Latest member
curiouscanadian
Back
Top