NEW YORK (AP) — The remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped historic rain over New York City, with at least nine deaths linked to flooding in the region as basement apartments suddenly filled with water and freeways and boulevards turned into rivers, submerging cars.
Water poured into subways tunnels as catastrophic flooding, which scientists have warned likely will be more common with man-made global warming, came to America’s largest city.
At least nine deaths were reported in New York City and New Jersey. A New York City police spokesperson says a total of eight people died when they became trapped in flooded basements. Five people died in a home in New Jersey, bringing the death toll of the remnants of Hurricane Ida in Northeast to at least 14.
An American flag floats in a puddle of flood water in Myrtle Grove, La. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) 
A motorist drives a car through a flooded expressway in Brooklyn, New York early on September 2, 2021, as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images) 
A ship that was washed ashore during Hurricane Ida is seen in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana. Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner has pleaded for help for residents of the small town, which is roughly 20 miles south of New Orleans. Many stores remain closed and services suspended as power throughout New Orleans and its surrounding region is down. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
Rainfall from Hurricane Ida floods the basement of a Kennedy Fried Chicken in the Bronx borough of New York City. The once category 4 hurricane passed through New York City, dumping 3.15 inches of rain in the span of an hour at Central Park. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images) 
Jareth Palmisano passes over a vehicle in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana. Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner has pleaded for help for residents of the small town, which is roughly 20 miles south of New Orleans. Many stores remain closed and services suspended as power throughout New Orleans and its surrounding region is down. Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on August 29 in Louisiana and brought flooding and wind damage along the Gulf Coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
Overturned boats in Lafitte, La., Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
A twisted tower that carried crucial electrical feeder lines to the New Orleans metro area lies collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Bridge City, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Floodwater surrounds vehicles following heavy rain on an expressway in Brooklyn, New York as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images) 
A ship washed ashore is seen in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana.(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
A motorist passes under a storm damaged utility line on September 1, 2021 in Hammond, Louisiana.(Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
Floodwater surrounds a house in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
Jareth Palmisano steers a boat through the Jean Lafitte Harbor in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
People wait in line to have their gas cans filled in Maurepas, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
Russell Threeton, a strawberry farmer, walks through floodwater after Hurricane Ida in Springfield, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
A person walks in floodwaters in Philadelphia in the aftermath of downpours and high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that hit the area. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) 
Vehicles are under water during flooding in Philadelphia in the aftermath of downpours and high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that hit the area. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) 
Pedestrians take cover near Columbus Circle in New York as the remnants of Hurricane Ida remained powerful while moving along the Eastern seaboard. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) 
Flooding in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia in the aftermath of downpours and high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that hit the area. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) 
Floodwaters slowly recede in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Lafitte, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
In this image taken from video provided by Scott Smith, a fast-moving tornado is seen in the distance through a windshield just before the toll booth for the Burlington Bristol Bridge on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Burlington, N.J. (Scott Smith via AP) 
A home which was damaged by a possible tornado is seen in Harrison Township, N.J.. The remnants of hurricane Ida brought heavy rains and possible tornadoes to the area (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) 
Barges washed ashore in St. Charles Parish, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) 
Flood damaged above-ground tombs at a graveyard in Lafitte, La. (AP Photo/John Locher) 
Flood damaged buildings and boats in Lafitte, La. (AP Photo/John Locher) 
Damaged barges in St. Charles Parish, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) 
Floodwater slowly recedes in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Lafitte, La., Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Josh Montford carries taxidermy deer heads from his flood damaged home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Jean Lafitte, La. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The rain ended by daybreak Thursday as rescuers searched for more stranded people and braced for potentially finding more bodies.
“We’re enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said while declaring a state of emergency in New York City late Wednesday.
Subway stations and tracks became so flooded that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended all service. Videos posted online showed subway riders standing on seats in cars filled with water.
Janno Lieber, the CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said at least 17 trains were stranded between stations overnight. All of the riders were evacuated safely, he told TV station NY1 on Thursday.
The toll Ida has taken in the U.S. also included at least two tornadoes in the mid-Atlantic where homes were now rubble in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia. Police in Connecticut are investigating a report of a person missing due to the flooding in Woodbury.
At least one death was reported in New Jersey as Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said a 70-year-old man was swept away.