At Least 4 Dead, Waist-Deep Water: Woodside, Elmhurst Storm Recap

WOODSIDE, QUEENS — At least four people, including a toddler, died on Wednesday night when the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought historic flooding to Woodside and Elmhurst, turning the neighborhood’s streets into river-like thoroughfares that led to abandoned vehicles and temporary closures.

Wednesday's storm, which prompted the National Weather Service to issue its first-ever flash flood emergency for New York City, caused devastating flooding across Queens that turned deadly in a couple of Queens neighborhoods.

In Woodside, three family members, including a 2-year-old boy, were found dead in their home, and Yue Lian Chen, 86, died in her home in Elmhurst after water rushed in and trapped her inside, according to police and multiple sources.

The four people are among at least 13 New Yorkers killed in the floods, 11 of whom lived in Queens, city records show as of Thursday evening.

“I don’t have words for this,” said a woman in Spanish, crying as she records her flooded first-floor home in Woodside, which is in the same building where the three family members died.

“How can this happen? On top of everything there’s a family downstairs with a baby who couldn’t get out,” she said in a video shared on Twitter and translated by reporters for The City.

Another apartment building in Woodside saw water levels rise to nearly waist height, a video posted to Twitter shows.

Further north, in Astoria and Long Island City, apartments flooded too, with neighbors taking to local Facebook groups to show images of flooded basement units and ask for advice on how to clean out water.

In addition to the apartment damage and loss of life, the storm flooded roadways across Queens, all-but turning them into rivers, videos show.

Sections of Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, which stretches from northwest Queens to Jamaica, were flooded to the point of oceanlike conditions, videos show, prompting dozens of people to abandon their cars on the street.

The storm’s significant impact in Queens, especially in southeast parts of the borough, prompted local officials to call for more investment in southeast Queens’ infrastructure, and address climate change.

"We cannot wait until tomorrow, we need [infrastructure investment] today,” said Borough President Donovan Richards at a news conference Thursday morning on 183 Street in Jamaica, where a mother and son died Wednesday night after their home flooded, reports show.

“Unfortunately if we do not address climate change we will continue to lose lives," Richards added.

Critics, however, pushed back, at the news conference suggesting that local officials could have done more to alert New Yorkers about the storm and ensure their safety.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who stood by his administration’s response, admitted that the city's weather predictions were "made a mockery of in a matter of minutes” and warned New Yorkers to assume the worst going forwards.

"From now on what I think we do is tell New Yorkers to expect the very, very worst. It may sound alarmist at times, but unfortunately, it's being proven by nature,” he said.

Related Articles:

• Woodside Toddler Among At Least 9 Dead In NYC After Flooding
• Elderly Woman In Elmhurst Among At Least 9 Dead In NYC Post-Flood
• 'We Need It Today:' Queens Leaders Demand Help After Major Storm