Biden Is Directing Federal Aid To New Jersey And New York After Ida’s Deadly Flooding

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Utility workers work among debris from flood damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in Manville, N.J., Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021.





Craig Ruttle/AP



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Craig Ruttle/AP



The Picture Show
Satellite Photos Show Just How Bad The Flooding From Ida Has Been In New Jersey

An existing emergency declaration issued last week enabled state, county and local governments to get reimbursed for disaster spending, Murphy said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said an initial assessment found that the storm damaged more than 1,200 homes and caused about $50 million in damage to public infrastructure and property. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said damage to city infrastructure was estimated at $35 million.

In the Hudson Valley, Metro-North said commuter rail service will return for Tuesday morning’s rush hour after crews removed several feet of mud from the tracks and and restoring washed out slopes and ballast. Two of the four tracks on the Hudson line remain out of service for repairs between Riverdale and Tarrytown.

Biden’s disaster declarations cover Bergen, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Passaic, and Somerset counties in New Jersey and allow for individual assistance for people in Bronx, Queens, Kings, Richmond and Westchester counties in New York.

Murphy said he would be talking to Biden during his visit about adding other counties to the major disaster declaration.

Murphy joined state and local officials on a walking tour of Lambertville, passing homes with belongings piled outside as residents spent their Labor Day clearing flood debris, aided at one point by a bulldozer.

The major disaster declaration could help people like Nick Cepparulo, who told Murphy all of his family’s first-floor possessions were washed away soon after they got in their car and raced for higher ground.



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«We’ll be all right, Cepparulo told reporters after speaking with Murphy. «We need a little help getting there.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Sen. Chuck Schumer and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent part of the morning touring of storm damage in Queens with Deanne Criswell, the former city emergency management chief who’s now administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

One resident greeted de Blasio with an arm on his shoulder and a quip about their flooded homes.

«Welcome to Woodside, she said. «We have swimming pools in each house. So you can get your bathing suit on and take a dip with us.