MASSIVE FLOODING On Staten Island As Hurricane Ida Passes Through – Cars, Buses, and People Stranded

Hurricane Ida made her presence known on Staten Island on Wednesday night. With flash flooding reported all over the island, residents were urged not to leave their homes. The numerous calls to 911, and the large number of police officers and firefighters rescuing people from their cars shows just how dangerous this storm was.

About 9 inches of rain fell on Staten Island during the storm.

Across the island, there were many cars that had simply been abandoned as the flood waters rose, though most of these were removed by mid-day the next day. Stranded buses and cars littered the streets, as the water level increased too quickly. Even in the Westerleigh and Port Richmond neighborhoods, which have not traditionally been flood areas, the streets quickly became lakes and rivers. There were at least 13 dead in New York City, some were people who tried to escape from their cars as they floated away, and others were renters of basement apartments who were not able to leave their homes quickly enough to escape the floodwaters.

The video above shows the storm while it was happening, with feet of water covering Decker Avenue, along with periodic geyers in the center of the street. Residents can be heard shouting to passing motorists to turn back, as the street was impassable.

The area behind Stop and Shop also became a lake, with some drivers attempting to navigate through, before thinking better of it and heading in a different direction. Many streets had become lakes during the storm, with blocked roads all over the island.

New Jersey saw even more severe flooding, with a state of emergency declared during the night. There were also several tornados in New Jersey.

The next day, the Blue Belt Project on Rockland Avenue had seen a good deal of erosion, with the plastic liner visible where it had not been before.