(New York) At least one person died in severe flooding caused by torrents of rain that continued to pour into the northeastern United States on Monday, authorities said.
The states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Vermont were all subject to flash flood warnings issued Monday by the US Weather Services (NWS), which warns that these floods can be “deadly”.
A state of emergency was declared in Vermont and several New York counties, including Orange, where authorities declared a state of emergency and confirmed that the bad weather had caused a victim , a 35-year-old woman.
“She went out, it seems her house was taking on too much water. She was with her dog and her fiancé saw her literally get carried away,” New York State Governor Kathy Hochul said in the village of Highland Falls, one of the hardest hit, at 1 1/2 hour drive north of New York.
” Climate change ”
The Democratic Governor called on the population to “mobilize to fight against the ravages of climate change, because once again, these are unprecedented phenomena that continue to hit us again and again”.
“The eye of the storm seems to be moving further east, unfortunately for the people of Vermont”, a border state in Canada where “sudden floods are already taking place” according to the meteorological services, added the governor.
State police warned of “severe and life-threatening flooding” in a tweet accompanied by a video of a dam being submerged by a river in the community of Quechee. About 20 roads were closed, according to state police.
In New York State, heavy rains turned streets into torrents, washing away sections of roadways and bridges, and stranding people in their cars.
Precipitation of around 200 mm in places caused “conditions that could be life-threatening due to flash floods”, said Governor Kathy Hochul.
More than 12,000 customers were without electricity Sunday evening, according to the services of the governor, and 6,000 remained without power Monday morning, according to the specialized site PowerOutage.
Highways were closed Sunday night in at least five counties across the state. And the rail company Amtrak has suspended service between the state capital, Albany, and New York City “due to severe weather conditions”.
Significant rainfall is also expected “until Tuesday”, warned the NWS, which called on the population on the roads to “turn around rather than drown” in new flash floods.