CNN — More than 5 million people in Southern Connecticut and Southeastern New York, including most of New York City, are under a flash flood warning until 4 p.m. ET. The warning
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More than 5 million people in Southern Connecticut and Southeastern New York, including most of New York City, are under a flash flood warning until 4 p.m. ET.
The warning comes as severe rainfall caused dangerous flooding in other parts of the Northeast, including Pennsylvania, where four people were killed.
“There are more than 5 million under a flash flood warning, including much of Manhattan. It might be one of the largest population numbers under a single warning I’ve seen,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.
The National Weather Service cautioned most flood deaths occur in vehicles and urged people not to attempt to drive down flooded roads.
“Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other drainage areas and low lying spots,” the weather service said.
Major airports were experiencing significant weather-related flight delays Sunday. All flights serving the major airports around New York City and Boston were facing ground stops around 1 p.m., including Boston Logan International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The National Weather Service also issued a tornado watch for large portions of the Northeast, including parts of the New York City metro Sunday. Much of the recently flooded New England region could face torrential rainfall. The weather service issued a Level 3 of 4 threat for excessive rainfall for areas including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
Four people have been found dead due to flooding in Pennsylvania, officials say, as they search for three who remain missing, including a two-year-old girl and her nine-month-old brother.
Officials in Bucks County, where the children are missing, are also searching for an adult woman, Upper Makefield Fire Chief Tim Brewer told reporters Sunday.
Intense rainfall flooded roadways, catching many on the roads by surprise Saturday and leaving some trapped, the Upper Makefield Township Police Department said in a statement.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, Brewer noted.
“We are treating this as a rescue but we are fairly certain we are in a recovery mode at this time,” Brewer said earlier Sunday.
Several area agencies were assisting with rescue missions overnight.
“Our department is assisting Upper Makefield Township Police Department with a search and rescue operation on Taylorsville Road in the area of Washington Crossing Road (Route 532) for missing persons lost in the flood,” said Newtown Township Police Department.
The state’s emergency management agency is monitoring the flooding and coordinating with water rescue teams in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on Twitter. The emergency management agency is urging residents to check road conditions before traveling.
“Never drive into standing water. Mere inches of flood water can carry you away in your vehicle,” the agency said on Twitter. “Mere inches of flood water can carry you away in your vehicle.”
The agency also warned some homes may lose power.
Over the last month, parts of interior New England and the Northeast have seen 200% to 300% of their average monthly rainfall, leading to last week’s disastrous flooding event in parts of Vermont, New York and western Massachusetts.
“Given some parts of the Northeast contain saturated and sensitive soils from recent heavy rainfall over the past 10 days, this is a setup primed to produce flash flooding that could be significant in affected areas,” the weather service said.
A 35-year-old woman died last week when she was swept away by floodwaters as she tried to evacuate her Orange County home in New York. Officials say the flooding there caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.
Vermont faced flooding of the likes not seen since Hurricane Irene devastated the state in 2011. The intense rainfall gushed through streets and homes, prompting hundreds of evacuations and more than 200 rescues.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Vermont, authorizing FEMA to move in needed equipment and resources.
Even with the help, “this is going to be a years – if not a decade – long recovery for the state of Vermont,” said Jennifer Morrison, the state’s public safety commissioner.
Steady warming and atmospheric changes are “supercharging” regular weather events, making them longer and more intense, Michael E. Mann, a climate scientist and distinguished professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN.
Climate experts say it is part of a “perfect storm” this summer, leading to deadly flooding in places like the Northeast while other parts of the world – including the Southwestern US – are scorched by record-breaking heat.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited newly liberated Izium in the northeastern region of Kharkiv on Wednesday, five days after the country’s forces recaptured the city.
Photographs on the Facebook page of an army unit showed Zelensky at a ceremony in the main square to raise the Ukrainian flag over the city’s administrative building. Hanna Maliar, the Deputy Minister of Defense, was also present.
“Earlier, when we looked up, we always looked for the blue sky. Today, when we look up, we are looking for only one thing – the flag of Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a post on the presidential Telegram channel.
“Our blue-yellow flag is already flying in the de-occupied Izium. And it will be so in every Ukrainian city and village. We are moving in only one direction – forward and towards victory.
“I want to thank you for saving our people, our hearts, children and future,” Zelensky said, according to a statement released on the presidential website.
“It has been extremely difficult for you in recent months. Therefore, I ask you to take care of yourselves, because you are the most valuable asset we have,” he said.
“It may be possible to temporarily occupy the territories of our state. But it is definitely impossible to occupy our people, the Ukrainian people,” he said.
There was a minute’s silence at the ceremony to remember those who had been lost during military operations.
Ukrainian forces took back control of Izium on Saturday, marking a huge strategic blow to Russia’s military assault in the east.
The city, which sits near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, was under Russian occupation for over five months and became an important hub for the invading military. Moscow was using Izium as a launching pad for attacks southward into the Donetsk region and Kupyansk, some 30 miles to the north of Izium, as a rail hub to resupply its forces.
Zelensky told journalists he was “shocked” by the number of “destroyed buildings” and “killed people” left in the wake of the Russian occupation.
“Unfortunately, this is part of our history today. And this is part of the modern Russian nation – what they did,” he said.
He also thanked foreign governments for sending investigators and prosecutors to investigate alleged human rights abuses by occupying forces in Ukraine, adding that all occupied areas would eventually return.
“We should send signals to our people who, unfortunately, are still under occupation. And my signal to the people in Crimea: we know that these are our people, and it is a terrible tragedy that they have been under occupation for more than eight years. We will return there. I don’t know when exactly. But we have plans.”
In a sign that Kyiv’s sustained military offensive is working, Zelensky said on Tuesday that 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) of territory has now been liberated by Ukrainian forces so far this month, with roughly half the area still undergoing “stabilization” measures.
On Monday, the President said that most of the territory regained by Ukrainian forces since the start of September was concentrated in the country’s northeastern and southern regions.
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