Storm Ida: Climate crisis is 'one of the great challenges of our time'

US President Joe Biden says "historic investment" is needed to deal with the climate crisis, after parts of north-eastern America have been hit by flash flooding and tornadoes caused by Storm Ida.

New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have all been affected by the extreme weather. The tropical storm is said to be the remnant, or aftermath, following Hurricane Ida which hit the state of Louisiana on Sunday.

Mr Biden has declared an emergency in both New Jersey and New York, which means that both states can receive federal (government) funding to support local disaster relief efforts.

He has blamed climate change for what's happened and said the country needed to be better prepared for extreme weather.

The governors of both New York and New Jersey had already declared a state of emergency, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called it a "historic weather event".

Parts of the US have been hit by the remnants of Hurricane Ida

In New York, at least eight centimetres of rain fell in just one hour in the city's famous Central Park. Almost all New York City subway lines have been closed, and non-emergency vehicles banned from being on the roads.

Lots of flights and trains going out of New York and New Jersey have been suspended.

New York senator Chuck Schumer said he believed the extreme weather was down to climate change.

"When you get two record rainfalls in a week, it's not just a coincidence," he said. "When you get all the changes that we have seen in the weather, that's not a coincidence."

Much of the subway in New York has been suspended because of the extreme weather

The impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but we know that increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. As a result, they are likely to be more intense with more extreme rainfall.

The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

What's being done to help?

A group of Navy recruiters (they help find people to join Navy services) help clear debris after a home was destroyed in New Jersey

The US National Weather Service declared a flood emergency in New York City, Brooklyn, Queens and parts of Long Island, and issued tornado warnings for parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

At least 45 people are reported to have died as a result of the storm and others have been trapped in their homes.

In New York, some 835 people were rescued from stranded subway trains, police said and more than 900,000 homes in Louisiana remain without power in the state.

After the President declared emergencies in the states of New York and New Jersey on Thursday, this means federal disaster management agencies have been ordered to coordinate relief efforts and provide emergency support.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will "identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency," the White House said in a statement.

Earlier, in a meeting with the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday, Mr Biden had pledged a massive government response to help states recover from the storm.

"We're providing any help that you're going to need," said Biden. "It is in moments like these that we can see the power of government to meet the needs of people."

What else did President Biden say?

President Biden talked about the flooding in the region, as well as the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida to Louisiana and Mississippi and wildfires in the West.

He said they were "yet another reminder that these extreme storms in the climate crisis are here".

He said he would be pushing Congress for action on his Build Back Better plan, which would see "historic investment" in infrastructure, including modernising roads and bridges and improving energy grids, water and sewage systems.

"This destruction is everywhere," he said. "It's a matter of life and death and we are all in this together. This is one of the great challenges of our time but I'm confident we will meet it."

The president will visit Louisiana on Friday to assess what is being done to help the state, which became the first to face Hurricane Ida when it made landfall on Sunday.