President Joe Biden has added New York to the list of major disaster areas from last week’s Hurricane Ida devastation.
The move announced Monday frees up federal disaster funding to help areas affected by the storm, which cut a swath up through the Northeast from Sept. 1-3, dumping an average of 3.1 inches an hour and causing dozens of deaths.
In a similar announcement Sunday, Biden also declared New Jersey a disaster area. Ida reportedly caused at least 27 deaths there and four people are still missing.
The president is expected to tour Manville, N.J., and Queens on Tuesday to witness Ida’s damage and the various recovery efforts.
One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S., Ida bashed Louisiana in the earlier part of the week before heading north and causing devastation across multiple states.
Nearly 530,000 Louisianans were still without power as of Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.us, a tracking site.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul estimated that Ida caused more than $50 million worth of damage to the state.
Biden’s move will allow aid to be freed up to the counties of Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond and Westchester, the White House said. Assessments are ongoing in other areas and counties as well.
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