Hurricane Ida death toll climbs to 46
Fox News' Steve Bender reports on the record rainfall from Ida ahead of President Biden's trip to survey damage in Louisiana.
An explosion in Rahway and several fires in Manville further devastated an already-battered New Jersey on Thursday and Friday after Ida brought deadly flooding and tornadoes to the state.
Images and video posted to social media show black smoke billowing from a Manville home surrounded by murky floodwaters, and nighttime video footage captured the moment a Rahway house was reduced to rubble in a massive explosion.
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The explosion in Rahway wasn't the only one and Twitter users said and a Manville banquet hall explosion shook their homes.
WNBC reported that the borough's Office of Emergency Management said there were no injuries following the early morning explosion at Saffron Banquet Hall – which was first spotted burning at around 2 a.m. ET – but noted that the blaze was inaccessible due to the surrounding floodwaters.
According to NJ.com, at least three Manville fires – including the banquet hall and two homes – were still seen burning on Friday morning.
The New York Post said while residents of the Rahway home had been evacuated at around 1 a.m. ET, one motorist who was driving past the house at the time suffered minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital.
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Fox 5 New York reported that four other houses in the area were damaged in the blast and that its cause was unconfirmed.
There were no reports of injuries in the Manville home fires or banquet hall explosion, WNBC said.
Record rainfall led to life-threatening floods on Wednesday night and water rescues in New York and New Jersey continued into Thursday.
The storm killed at least 46 people from Maryland to Connecticut and ultimately dumped more than 9 inches of rain on portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and nearly as much on New York City’s Staten Island.
The National Weather Service said Ida also spawned at least 10 tornadoes from Maryland to Massachusetts.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told NBC's "Today" show on Friday morning that the death toll in the state had risen to 25 and that at least six people remain missing.
He noted that it is likely that number will continue to rise.
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"My biggest concern right now is that folks have to appreciate the fact that while the weather may be good and while the floodwaters may have receded, we're still not out of the woods," the governor said.
"And, at the same time, we mourn the loss of those lives," Murphy said, "And, we're going to clean up, and we're going to stay together and we'll get back on our feet, but it may be a long road."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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