New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, appearing side by side with New York City officials, said she spoke with President Biden today who “guaranteed” full support in the wake of a “devastating” and “record-shattering” storm. “This is the first time we’ve had a flash flood event of this proportion,” she said. “We should expect it the next time,” she said. The governor added that the human loss is “hard to imagine.” For a state that experienced the devastating shore effects of Sandy, Hochul said that this time around, “where we had a vulnerability is in our streets.” The governor noted that the draining systems need to be enhanced and infrastructure investments are paramount.

A woman was R””L Niftar after she was stuck by a vehicle on Myrtle Avenue and Bedford Avenue on Thursday morning. The woman, approximately 65 years old, was with a child when she struck and pinned under a truck. The child is B”H ok. Williamsburg Hatzolah rushed her in traumatic arrest to Brooklyn Hospital, where doctors tried saving her life. Unfortunately, she was Niftar a few minutes later. Sources tell YWN that the child she was babysitting at the time of the tragedy is a relative of hers. Boruch Dayan HaEmmes… RECEIVE BREAKING UPDATES IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status. YWN WHATSAPP GROUPS: CLICK HERE to be added to an official YWN WhatsApp Group. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Amidst the tragic news pouring into YWN today, there is this news item, which had a happy ending. During the peak of last nights deadly flooding in New York City, Hatzalah of Washington Heights and Riverdale Hatzalah proved themselves to be heroes. A car with a woman in active  labor was caught in the gridlock caused by the torrential rains last night–heavy traffic, multiple road closures, and extensive roadway flooding. Hatzolah volunteers from both neighborhoods worked together for over an hour to access the patient, including 2 crew members who took equipment and ran a half-mile to get to her to provide care until the ambulance could arrive. The baby was delivered in the car and, B”H, everyone is healthy & doing well!

On Wednesday, Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic nominee for New York City mayor Eric Adams joined Met Council on Jewish Poverty to distribute emergency kosher food at the Flatbush Community Fund food pantry ahead of Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year. As the need continues to grow to all-time highs, Met Council launched America’s largest kosher food distribution – more than doubling their high holiday food delivery to over 1.34 million pounds to help those struggling to afford their basic staples, as well as the items that are essential for welcoming the Jewish New Year with dignity and joy. The increase in food came via an emergency grant from UJA-Federation of New York.

At least 22 people died, including a New York City toddler, and tens of thousands were overwhelmed by floods as the remnants of Hurricane Ida devastated the tri-state area overnight with historic rainfall, at least one tornado and savage winds. Eight of the confirmed fatalities were in two boroughs — a 2-year-old boy, 45-, 86- and 48-year-old women and 50- and 22-year-old men in Queens and a 66-year-old man in Brooklyn. The other 14 confirmed deaths were in New Jersey, where at least five bodies were found in Elizabeth’s Oakwood Plaza Apartments complex. A mayoral spokeswoman had no details on how they died but noted fire department headquarters nearby were under 8 feet of water.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of HaRav Shmuel Dovid Weissmandel ZT”L, who was Niftar while driving during the floods last night. The Niftar was travelling on the NY State Thruway from Monsey to his home in Mount Kisco, when he encountered flood waters near the Tappan Zee Bridge. Unable to drive any further, he contacted his family to try and rescue him. His son, Moshe Elya, posted on his WhatsApp status at around midnight looking for for anyone with an SUV in that area to help evacuate his father. Unfortunately, he was Niftar before anyone was sable to rescue him. It is unknown if he drowned in the waters, or he suffered a fatal heart attack in the vehicle. The Niftar was 69 years old, and was the son of Hagaon HaRav Michoel Ber Weissmandle ZT”L.

The attached video footage shows Hatzolah members, in waist-deep water, entering a shul in Williamsburg to rescue damaged Sifrei Torah. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The post DRAMATIC FOOTAGE: Sifrei Torah In Williamsburg Damaged In Shul Submerged Underwater Rescued By Hatzolah [VIDEO & PHOTOS] appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Record-breaking rainfall led to historic flooding Wednesday evening in New York and New Jersey, with officials declaring rare emergencies warning people to stay away from dangerous flood waters to protect their lives. Just after midnight on Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in New York. She urged people to stay of the roads. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued a state of emergency in response to the storm late Wednesday. “Tropical Storm Ida is severely impacting all areas of our state,” he said. “The safety of our residents is our main priority, and we urge everyone to be informed of local weather conditions and to stay off the roads.” BREAKING: I’m declaring a STATE OF EMERGENCY EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY in response to Tropical Storm Ida.

Multiple tornadoes have touched down in New Jersey as the remnants of Hurricane Ida ripped through the state Wednesday evening amid numerous flash floor, severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. The National Weather Service said an apparent twister caused “significant damage” in the Mullica Hill area of Harrison Township around 6:21 p.m, another in the area of Cherry Hill, and heavy damage reported in Wenonah, at 6:27 p.m. RECEIVE BREAKING UPDATES IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status. YWN WHATSAPP GROUPS: CLICK HERE to be added to an official YWN WhatsApp Group. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A court-appointed monitor said Wednesday there is “substantial evidence” New York City police officers have underreported the number of times they’ve stopped and frisked people, likely skewing statistics tracking use of a tactic long scrutinized over racial bias. “There is substantial evidence suggesting that many NYPD officers did not submit reports documenting all of their stops of civilians in years 2016 to 2019,” monitor Peter Zimroth said in the latest in a series of oversight reports filed in federal court. “These undocumented stops may undermine the reliability of statistical analyses to identify racially disparate stop report patterns and practices in NYC,” Zimroth said.