The torrential downpours as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ida that caused massive flooding throughout New York City late Wednesday, Sept. 1, and into the early morning hours of Thursday, Sept. 2, resulted in no fewer than eight deaths throughout Brooklyn and Queens, according to authorities.
Almost all of the deaths were of victims who had drowned inside basement apartments that quickly became flooded.
Cops in Brooklyn responded to a drowned man inside a home in Cypress Hills at about 11:30 pm on Sept. 1.
Officers from the 75th Precinct found the 66-year-old man unconscious and unresponsive inside his residence at 491 Ridgewood Ave. EMS units pronounced him dead at the scene.
A mother, father and son were found dead in the basement of their Queens home in Woodside around 10 pm Wednesday night, police said.
Officers from the 108th Precinct responded to a call regarding a flooding condition and, upon arriving at the scene, found a 50-year-old man, a 48-year-old man and a 2-year-old boy unconscious in the basement of the residence.
They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Then, just before 11 am, officers from the 112th Precinct responded to a call regarding a flooding condition in Forest Hills near Grand Central Parkway near Horace Harding Expressway.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers found a 48-year-old woman unconscious in the basement of a residence. EMS arrived at the scene and transported her to Long Island Jewish Forest Hills hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Around 11:15 pm Wednesday night, officers from the 103rd Precinct responded to a call regarding a flooding condition at 183rd Street in Jamaica. Upon their arrival, officers found a 43-year-old mother and her 22-year-old son unconscious in the basement of their residence.
EMS arrived and transported the woman to NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, where she was pronounced dead. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Just before midnight, officers from the 110th Precinct responded to a call regarding a flooding condition at a residence on 84th Street in Elmhurst. Upon their arrival, officers found an 86-year-old woman unconscious in the residence.
Identities of all victims are being withheld pending family notification. The Medical Examiner’s office will conduct autopsies on the victims to determine the causes of their deaths.
At around 9:30 pm, the National Weather Service New York issued a Flash Flood Emergency warning for Brooklyn and Queens — the first time they’ve ever had to issue a message of that kind.
This story first appeared on amNewYork.
