Stunned By Ida, The Northeast Begins To Recover And Prepare For The Next Storm

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Sam Catrambone clears debris away from a friend’s home that was damaged by a tornado in Mullica Hill, N.J., on Thursday after record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Hurricane Ida that swept through the area.

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Floodwater covers a street on Thursday in Newark, N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency due to Tropical Storm Ida, which caused flooding and power outages throughout New Jersey as the Northeast was hit by tornadoes and record rain.

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Why Ida Hit The Northeast So Hard, 1,000 Miles Away From Its Landfall

Annetta Seecharran, of the Chhaya Community Development Corporation in Queens, says the city needs to make it easier for landlords to make their basement apartments safer.

«It is absolutely urgent, and I think the storm has proven that we need to address this issue and we need to address it now,» Seecharran said. «Another storm could come next week. Are we going to risk more lives?»

New York City officials say they’re going to try to evacuate residents into emergency shelters before the next storm. They also say they may impose travel bans ahead of future weather events, so drivers don’t get stranded in floodwaters.

Biden will visit New Jersey and New York

President Biden plans to travel to Manville, N.J., and Queens, N.Y., on Tuesday to survey the storm damage, the White House said Saturday. He made a similar visit to the Gulf Coast on Friday.

Federal disaster declarations are in effect for all of New Jersey and parts of New York.

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A teenager cleans water out from a car in a flooded Queens neighborhood on Friday.

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Homes destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Ida are shown in addition to a submerged automobile Thursday in Grand Isle, La.

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Homes destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Ida are shown in addition to a submerged automobile Thursday in Grand Isle, La.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Officials now say the supply of gasoline is critically low, as some people scramble to find open gas stations, often driving three hours round trip to fill up their cars and get supplies for their electric generators.

«We got hit with a double whammy. We got hit at our refineries, eight refineries that represent two-thirds of the refinery capability for Louisiana and 13% of the refining capabilities for the United States,» said Cynthia Lee Sheng, president of Jefferson Parish.

Biden, who visited storm-ravaged communities in Louisiana this week, has ordered officials to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help reduce fuel shortages.