Tornado watch for 18MILLION in NY area after twister hits Maryland as Hurricane Ida's tail lashes US & death toll hits 7
A TORNADO watch has been issued for 18million people in the New York area after a twister hit Maryland as the tail end of Hurricane Ida lashed out on the US — and the death toll hit seven.
National Weather Service New York announced at 6.18pm on Wednesday that a tornado watch has been issued for parts of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York until 1am ET.
A few tornados are possible, as well as isolated wind gusts of up to 75mph, the NWS warned on Twitter.
Approximately 30 minutes later, a Flash Flood Warning was put into effect for Manhatan, Brooklyn, and Queens until 10pm ET.
The advisories come after multiple tornados ripped through Anne Arundel County, Maryland, on Wednesday afternoon — damaging buildings, trees, and wires.
According to CBS Baltimore, a tornado was confirmed at approximately 2.30pm.
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman told WJZ that two tornados hit the state, one in Parole and another near Edgewater, CBS reported.
Pitmann said: "The wind and the power outages have been bad all along the Chesapeake coast so on the eastern side of our county.
"We have power outages, we have trees down and we have some roads closed. And our emergency operations center is activated."
And City of Annapolic Public information Officer, Mitchelle Stephenson, said Maryland’s capital saw "significant damage."
Matthew Carpucci, a meteorologist for Fox5DC, shared footage of the tornado that took place in Annapolis, Maryland, on Wednesday afternoon.
In the video, which was posted on Twitter and since obtained more than 74,000 views, Carpucci is heard saying: "Tornado, right now! Tornado in Annapolis, Maryland."
He continued: "I'm only a few hundred feet away. This tornado sets across the road right in front of me. This is the tornado.
"You can see leaves in the air right now. People driving into it. They have no idea what the hell they are doing. This is the tornado."
He then proceeded to yell and try to get other drivers to stop driving into the tornado, but his efforts didn't seem to work.
Another shocking video of the tornado was uploaded to Twitter by Major League Baseball broadcaster Melanie Newman.
The video clip, which obtained more than 127,000 views by Wednesday evening, showed fierce winds, leaves flying in the air, rain, and trees swaying.
Newman said her boyfriend Andrew, a firefighter and Coast Guard vet who doesn't use social media, took the video.
"We’ve got no power because lines are all down across the roads but we’re physically okay," she wrote in the comments. "Counting blessings with as many we’ve had this year."
A meterologist, who goes by the name Doc V on Twitter, reshared the video and called the tornado "nuts."
"You don't see tornadoes this destructive on the east coast all that often," he added.
Maryland Gov Larry Hogan wrote to Twitter after the tornado passed: "We are closely monitoring the aftermath of the tornado that touched down from Edgewater to Annapolis.
"Again, we strongly urge Marylanders to take all tornado threats seriously."
The state is under a Flash Flood Watch until 8am Thursday.
Meanwhile, New Orleans was hit by looting chaos after Hurricane Ida and left the city facing three weeks without electricity.
And at least seven people have died as a result of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall over the weekend.
On Tuesday two power workers — Eli Nathaniel Babb and Layton River Ellison, both 19 — in Alabama were electrocuted while working to restore power, the DailyMail reported.
A 60-year-old man was the first to die on Monday, after a tree fell on him.
Another victim passed away in New Orleans after trying to drive his vehicle through flooded streets.
One man was eaten by an alligator in Louisiana, and his body has not been located.
And two people died tragically in Mississippi when a highway collapsed.
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