Four people have lost their lives so far in New York City during historic flooding in the city's first ever flash flood emergency, and fifth person lost his life in New Jersey.
Three people were killed in Queens after being trapped in their basements when water flooded in. One was a woman in her forties on Grand Central Parkway; two were a 22-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman who died in their home on 183rd Street. A fourth New Yorker who lived in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, lost his life in similar circumstances.
The NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit responded to their homes when family and friends called 911, saying they could not locate their loved ones. All of them were unconscious and unresponsive when they were extracted from the basements; they were taken to local hospitals where they were declared dead.
The mayor of Passaic, New Jersey, has said that at least one person has lost his life during the storm. Firefighters managed to rescue two people from a vehicle that was caught in floodwaters near the Passaic River, but a third person who had been with them in the car could not be saved. Reports are emerging of an additional death in New Jersey.
Updates to follow.