Ida lashes Northeast with tornadoes and severe flooding
Three days after Ida devastated the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, remnants of the storm are still causing dangerous weather for millions. Tornadoes have been spotted in Maryland and New Jersey as the storm heads north, and flash flood watches are in effect for much of the northeast as Ida dumps buckets of rain.
New York City and Northern New Jersey were under a flash flood emergency Wednesday night for the first time, according to the National Weather Service, as the storm approaches New England.
Earlier Wednesday, a tornado in Annapolis knocked down power lines and damaged a high school stadium and small businesses. Emergency crews are rushing to plug several gas leaks. Ida also unleashed a tornado south of Philadelphia in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, that damaged several homes.
Elsewhere in Maryland, heavy rains made driving difficult after some parts of the state received up to three inches of rain. A school bus trapped in fast-rising flood water had to be evacuated. Rescue crews had to bail out a flooded apartment complex, where personal belongings floated outside.
In western Pennsylvania, heavy rains led to flooded roads and forced families to evacuate their homes. Just outside of Pittsburgh, 41 passengers were rescued from a school bus by boat.
Severe flooding caused mud slides that destroyed 20 homes and prompted dozens of emergency evacuations in southern Virginia.