Biblical downpours and tornadoes have hit northeastern USA as Eight are dead and the first ever flood emergency is declared in New York City.

Powerful remnants of Hurricane Ida have left stranded motorists and people trapped in basements as well as subways underwater and buildings wrecked.

Emergency crews were rescuing dozens of stranded motorists and people trapped in a basement were being rescued by divers after a building collapse in Queens.

A 66-year-old Brooklyn man was discovered dead in the basement of his Cypress Hills apartment at around half midnight on Thursday, the New York post reported.

A woman in her 40s was also found dead at about 1am in her apartment on Grand Central Parkway.

A 22-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman were both found dead in the basement of their home on 183rd Street near 90th Avenue in Queens.

Mayor Bill De Blasio and Governor Katie Hochul of New York City declared a state of emergency for the metropolitan area as well as New Jersey after flood warnings were put in place for the first time ever.

All non-essential road travel was banned until 5am Thursday while subway services were crippled as the nine inches deluge of rain swept the city.

Buildings at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, were flooded with 15,000 power outages in New York and more than 81,000 in New Jersey.

One Twitter video showed deluge gushing onto a subway station platform, another showed a train ploughing through huge waterfalls pouring from the platform ceiling and roofs were shown torn from buildings in southern New Jersey.

Tornadoes in New Jersey crashed through buildings destroying at least nine homes and a major highway.

One resident who saw the tornado rip through his neighbor’s home said: “I heard the rumble and I seen stuff flying and I told my wife and kids to get in the basement.

“And I looked out the window and I seen their house going. First thing I did was run over to their house to make sure they were alright.”

“We’re enduring a historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads,” de Blasio tweeted.

Minutes later he urged: “Please stay off the streets tonight and let our first responders and emergency services get their work done.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency after midnight “to help New Yorkers affected by tonight’s storm,” she announced on Twitter.

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey also experienced flooding and reported all flight activity to be suspended at around 10.30pm.

Across the rest of the country, Ida has already claimed eight lives and wreaked havoc across Pennsylvania, Maryland and Louisiana.

Share on:  Whatsapp  Twitter  Facebook