Northeast deals with waterlogged homes, muck in Ida cleanup

President Biden will view damage in NYC, Manville, New Jersey.

CRANFORD, N.J. — Floodstricken families and business owners across the Northeast were hauling waterlogged belongings to the curb Saturday and scraping away noxious mud as cleanup from the deadly remnants of Hurricane Ida moves into high gear.

The White House said President Joe Biden will survey storm damage in New York City and Manville, New Jersey, on Tuesday.

The mud-caked sidewalks of Cranford, New Jersey, were lined with the detritus of the suburban dream: household items and furnishings that once made a cozy home reduced to rubbish by the sudden storm waters that swamped homes, cars and businesses and killed at least 50 people in six Eastern states.

This community along the normally placid Rahway River experienced major flooding when Ida arrived in the Northeast with furious rainfall that in places topped 8 inches Wednesday and Thursday.

The main foes during the massive cleanup: muck, mud and sewage.

“The sewer backed up into our basement, and now we have to get it deep-cleaned,” said Dave Coughlin, one of many residents on his street near the river busily engaged in dragging ruined possessions to the curb. He and his wife, Christina, were taking their two young children to stay elsewhere temporarily while the cleanup progressed.

“I don’t want them breathing this stuff in or smelling the bleach,” he said.

After touring a floodwrecked apartment complex Saturday on the banks of the Raritan River in Piscataway, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy warned residents about the potentially harmful contaminants left behind.

“You have to assume the worst,” he said. “If you’re in there, you want to have windows and doors open.”

A record 3 inches poured down in a single hour in New York City, where by Thursday afternoon, nearly 7½ inches had fallen, according to the National Weather Service. Eleven died when they were unable to escape rising water in their low-lying apartments.

Saturday, the city opened service centers in each of the five boroughs to connect people with housing, food and mental health counseling.

In Connecticut, funeral arrangements were set for State Police Sgt. Brian Mohl, swept away with his vehicle while on duty early Thursday in Woodbury.

Floodwaters and a falling tree also took lives in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, where at least 26 people perished, the most of any state.

PHOTOS BY CRAIG RUTTLE/AP Debris is removed Saturday from the basement of Goldberg’s Famous Deli in Millburn, New Jersey, after it was flooded by remnants of Hurricane Ida. Many in the Northeast are hauling waterlogged items to the curb and cleaning out mud.

Josh Herrera puts ruined items on his lawn Saturday in Millburn, New Jersey, in the wake of last week’s flooding. After seeing water rising from street sewer grates, he, his wife and children waded waist deep to flee their home.