As NYC Marks 1 Year After Hurricane Ida, Gov Warns Of Climate Threats

NEW YORK CITY — The wettest hour in New York City's history unfolded one year ago as Hurricane Ida's remnants blew through the city — and gave a grim glimpse of our future under climate change, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

Hochul on Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida with by commemorating the 18 city dwellers who died in the devastating storm.

Streets, subways and basement apartments flooded as Ida dumped a record-setting 3.15 inches of rain in a single hour on Sept. 1, 2021, according to National Weather Service records for Central Park.

And, as Hochul noted, the once-unfathomable rainfall came barely a week after Tropical Storm Henri broke the single-hour record with unprecedented flooding in what experts called a "500-year event."

"Eleven days later, we got hit with another one," she said at an event in Queens, which bore the brunt of Ida.

"Just so you know, I'm buying that analysis anymore, I'm not buying these 100-year events. I'm saying our climate has changed: whether we want to accept that fact or not, it all has changed."

Mayor Eric Adams had a warning about climate change during a Queens event — on a spot where 3.75 inches of rain an hour fell — of his own to mark the one-year anniversary of Ida.

The city must protect against rising sea levels and stronger storms, he said.

“This is real and there is no place for denial,” Adams said of climate change. “We have to get stuff done.”

"We're adapting in real time to the realities of climate change and doing everything we can to keep New Yorkers safe."

Adams promised to ramp up flood protections across the city, and in Queens especially, with rain gardens, flood sensor technology, blue sewer systems and retention ponds.

An additional 2,300 rain gardens — depressed areas that help rain soak into the ground and prevent sewer system overloads — will bring the city's total to 11,000, he said.

Hochul, who took office just days before the storm, pledged to support people affected by the storm, alongside local officials who praised her efforts to do so.

But many changes still have yet to be made — as THE CITY reported, 109 city families displaced by the storm are still living in hotels a year later.

Basement apartments, in which 11 Queens residents died as floodwaters inundated them, still house 100,000 New Yorkers and safety regulations have been slow to come about, Gothamist reported.

Related coverage:

• City Commits To Queens Sewer Fixes On Hurricane Ida Anniversary
• Central Park Again Records Wettest Hour In NYC History
• 'Expect The Very, Very Worst': NYC Faces Future Ida-Scale Threats

Patch writer Naeisha Rose contributed to this report.