Human Interest 8 Dead, Including Toddler, After Hurricane Ida Hits the Tri-State Area Causing Flooding, High Winds New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called Hurricane Ida "a historic weather event" By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Instagram Twitter Nicholas Rice is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. Nicholas has previous work experience with Billboard, POPSUGAR, Bustle and Elite Daily. When not working, Nicholas can be found playing with his 5 dogs, listening to pop music or eating mozzarella sticks. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 2, 2021 08:59 AM Share Tweet Pin Email At least eight individuals, including a toddler, have died after the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit the tri-state area Wednesday. Hurricane Ida passed through the East Coast, bringing heavy rainfall, flooding, tornados, and strong winds. The eight deaths resulted from the flooding, the New York Times reported, with seven in New York City and another in Passaic, New Jersey. The names of the victims have not yet been released. According to WABC-TV, those who died included an 86-year-old woman, a 43-year-old woman, a 22-year-old man, a woman in her 20s, a man in his 60s, a 50-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman, and a 2-year-old boy. Hurricane Ida: How You Can Help People Affected By the Storm Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency late Wednesday evening, noting that the Big Apple was "enduring a historic weather event" with "record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads." For more on Hurricane Ida and other top stories, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. "Please stay off the streets tonight and let our first responders and emergency services get their work done," he added in a tweet. "If you're thinking of going outside, don't. Stay off the subways. Stay off the roads. Don't drive into these heavy waters." David Dee Delgado/Getty Images "We're keeping our eyes on our power grid. We've seen about 5,300 customers without power," he continued in a separate message, late Wednesday. "We expect the rain to stop in the next few hours. But until then, again, if you're not inside, get inside." New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy similarly declared a state of emergency in the bordering state around the same time as de Blasio, 60, on Wednesday evening in a social media statement. In a tweet, the politician asked residents to "stay off the roads, stay home, and stay safe." The state's Newark Liberty International Airport suffered flooding, with water getting into Terminal B and forcing a suspension of flights. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images During the weather event, the National Weather Service (NWS) of New York issued its first-ever flash flood emergency for New York City. "To be clear ... this particular warning for NYC is the second time we've ever issued a Flash Flood Emergency (It's the first one for NYC). The first time we've issued a Flash Flood Emergency was for Northeast New Jersey a an [sic] hour ago," the organization tweeted. In photographs and videos shared on social media, users showed damage caused by the storm, including overflowing subway stations and major flooding on city streets. The NWS of New York said it recorded 3.15 inches of rain in Central Park in one hour, an amount larger than the record of 1.94 inches that fell in the area within an hour during Tropical Storm Henri last month, NBC 4 New York reported. RELATED VIDEO: Hurricane Ida Reduced to Tropical Storm After Leaving 1 Dead, Million Without Power in Louisiana Earlier this week, Hurricane Ida touched down in Louisiana when it was elevated to a category 4 storm after being previously classified as category 1. Hurricane Ida was then downgraded to a tropical storm after it left a million without electricity, and caused six deaths, in the southern state. Coming on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the category 3 storm that claimed more than 1,800 lives and caused more than $100 billion in damages, Hurricane Ida marked two consecutive years of record-breaking hurricanes for Louisiana. Last year's Hurricane Laura also made landfall with sustained winds of 150 mph, making it the strongest hurricane in terms of wind speed to hit Louisiana since 1856, according to NOLA.com.