Hurricane Ida's death toll continued to rise on Sunday, with many in the Northeast holding out hope for people missing in the floodwaters, while in Louisiana nearly 600,000 people still lack power a week after the storm made landfall.
Ida slammed into Louisiana on August 29 as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph. The latest death toll in the southern state rose to at least 13 people on Sunday.
The storm weakened as it moved north but still unleashed flash flooding on the East Coast that killed at least 50 more people, according to figures also updated Sunday.
Ida's record-breaking rainfall of 3.1 inches per hour on Wednesday, recorded in New York City's Central Park, sent walls of water cascading through businesses, public transportation systems and 1,200 homes, causing more than $50 million in damages, Governor Kathy Hochul said.
Houses and businesses are seen damaged on September 2 after the town and barrier island of Grand Isle was left devastated by Hurricane Ida
An aerial photo made with a drone shows damage caused by Hurricane Ida in Norco, Louisiana. on August 31
Flood waters from heavy rain associated with Ida enter Sunflower Organic Cleaners in Passaic, New Jersey on September 2
A pick-up truck drives through a flooded River Drive as water gushes out of a man hole on September 2, in Passaic City, New Jersey
A home with flood waters leading into the garage on Lester Street is seen on September 2, in Passaic City, New Jersey
Several days after Hurricane Ida swept through the area, utility workers help families in Manville, New Jersey on September 5 to clear their homes and streets of debris
Satellite images show the Saffron Banquet Hall in Manville, New Jersey is surrounded by floodwaters on September 2
'The human toll was tremendous,' said Hochul, recounting a trip to East Elmhurst in the city borough of Queens to assess the devastation.
'One woman wept in my arms, an 89-year-old woman. She had nothing left after living in that home for over 40 years,' Hochul said.
New York's governor had previously secured an emergency disaster declaration from President Joe Biden and on Sunday signed paperwork to request related federal money to cover the costs of temporary housing as well as rebuilding homes, possibly in less flood-prone locations.
New York had 17 confirmed deaths, four in Westchester County and the remainder in New York City, where nearly all the victims were trapped in illegal basement apartments that are among the last remaining affordable options for low-income residents in the area, the governor's spokesperson said.
Ang Lama, 50, Mingma Sherpa, 48, and their two-year-old son, Ang (full name Lobsang), were found dead in their basement apartment in Woodside, Queens on Thursday morning.
Mingma Sherpa, 48, (Pic 1 left) Ang Lama, 50, (Pic 1 right) and their two-year-old son were found dead in their basement apartment in Woodside, Queens. Two-year-old Lobsang 'Ang' was found dead with his parents on Thursday morning.
The family of three are suspected to have been trapped in their basement by the flood waters that pressed against their one door and filled the apartment
Water from the flash flood began pouring into the family's basement apartment around 9:30pm Wednesday, as Sherpa frantically dialed her upstairs neighbor for help.
'The water is coming in right now...The water coming in from the window!' Sherpa purportedly yelled down the phone to Choi Sledge, who lives on the complex's third floor.
Choi told The New York Times that she urged the family to 'get out' and make their way upstairs. When Choi tried to call back minutes later there was no answer.
The basement apartment features just one door, and occupants can only leave by climbing an external flight of stairs.
Deborah Torres, who lives on the first floor of the complex, says she believes the staircase would have been cascading with rushing water, making it impossible for the family to escape.
'I think the pressure of the water was too strong that they couldn't open the door [to get out and up the stairs] ' Torres told The New York Daily News. 'The [basement] was just like a pool with stairs.'
Nidhi Rana, 18, (pictured left) was last seen with her friend Ayush Rana, 21, as the flood waters rose around his car. Ayush Rana's (pictured right) car was reportedly swept into the Passaic River
The search for the two New Jersey college students who went missing when Hurricane Ida hit the Northeast continued on Sunday
In New Jersey, there were 27 confirmed storm deaths and four people still missing, said a spokesperson for Governor Phil Murphy.
Among the missing were two college students last seen in Passaic, New Jersey, on Wednesday as Ida's historic deluge was reported to have swept them away in the raging Passaic River.
A student mass was called on Sunday at Seton Hall University in South Orange for Nidhi Rana, 18, a first-year commuter student from Passaic who was last seen with her friend Ayush Rana, 21, a Montclair State University student, as the water rushed around his car.
'Join me in keeping Nidhi and Ayush in your prayers for their safe return,' Seton Hall President Joseph Nyre said in a letter to students.
Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said in a text Sunday that a dozen search boats were taking part in the search with the aid of a state police air unit.
Gov. Phil Murphy, who said Saturday night the death toll in the Garden State had reached 27, said at least four people remained missing following what he called a 'historic' storm. He said he had already sought federal assistance and would continue to ask for more 'because we need it.'
'We had rain in many communities in two or three hours that were equivalent to what they normally get in a month or two,' Murphy told CBS's 'Face The Nation' on Sunday. 'This, sadly, we think is part of what we´re going to be facing, more frequency and more intensity.'
Other storm deaths were reported in Connecticut with at least one dead, Pennsylvania with at least four dead and Maryland with at least one dead.
Debris from flood damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida lies on the side of a street in Manville, New Jersey, September 5
Flood-stricken families and business owners across the Northeast are hauling waterlogged belongings to the curb as cleanup from Ida moves into high gear in Manville, New Jersey on September 5
Utility workers walk along a street piled with debris from flood damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in Manville, New Jersey on September 5
Simon Wolyniec stands in the basement of his Manville home on September 5 in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Wolyniec said that the basement wall collapsed in the early hours of September 2, and shortly thereafter
President Joe Biden is scheduled to be in New Jersey and New York City on Tuesday to survey storm damage, according to the White House. He visited Louisiana on Friday before flying to his private residence in Delaware for Labor Day weekend.
Appearing Sunday at a New York City subway stop that sustained heavy flooding, Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer renewed the call for Congress to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a reconciliation bill that would dedicate billions to improving flood resiliency and addressing the broader effects of climate change.
'Ida was yet another wake-up call for New York and a nation where too many are hitting the snooze button on big and bold change,' Schumer said at the 28th Street station. Videos showed rivers of water cascading from the street down onto the station's platform and tracks.
'Each of these hurricanes gets a name,' Schumer said. 'It´s time to make one for ourselves as a nation that can keep doing the big things and the hard work that saves the planet and grows our economy.'
The death toll jumped to 13 on Sunday when the Louisiana Health Department confirmed the death of a 74-year-old male who passed from the extreme heat during the extensive power outage.
President Joe Biden, aboard the Marine One helicopter, inspecting the damage from Hurricane Ida on an aerial tour of communities in Laffite, Grand Isle, Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, September 3
A motorist drives down a road in the wake of Hurricane Ida on September 4 in Grand Isle, Louisiana
A storm-damaged house at a busted levy on the beach after Hurricane Ida on September 4, in Grand Isle, Louisiana
Timothy Satterlee (left) with his wife (right). He was killed in an alligator attack in Slidell, Louisiana, during Hurricane Ida on Monday
A flooded street is seen in Slidell, Louisiana, where 71-year-old Timothy Satterlee was attacked by an alligator during Hurricane Ida
Amid stifling heat and humidity, more than 600,000 still lack power and businesses lacked electricity as of Sunday, according to PowerOutage.com. Some 1.2 million had originally lost power.
Ida damaged or destroyed more than 22,000 power poles, more than hurricanes Katrina, Zeta and Delta combined, an impact Entergy President and CEO Phillip May called 'staggering.'
Residents continue to face food, water and gas shortages while battling heat and humidity a week after the hurricane made landfall. It could take weeks to return power to all Louisiana residents.
At least four of those who died in Louisiana were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from power generators, officials said.
A 71 year-old father was killed by an alligator after Hurricane Ida flooded his Louisiana home. Timothy Satterlee was seized by the creature at his home in Slidell, Louisiana, in the early hours of Monday as his horrified wife looked on.
Satterlee's spouse, who has not been named, tried to save him, but the reptile had torn off Satterlee's arm, and she was unable to do so.
Ida also paralyzed U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production, and 88% of crude oil output and 83% of natural gas production remained suspended as of Sunday.
The Grand Classica, a cruise ship that will house 1,500 workers trying to restore power, departed from the Port of Palm Beach on Saturday and is due to arrive in New Orleans on Tuesday under a charter agreement with Entergy Corp., the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line said.
A massive oil slick has emerged near the oil hub of Port Fourchon, with satellite images showing a miles-long brownish-black slick spreading in the coastal waters about two miles off Port Fourchon, Louisiana. A private dive team was attempting to locate the source in the Bay Marchand area.
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