Storm Ida kills at least 41 across four states

Louisiana's Department of Health has confirmed the death toll in the state has risen to nine, up from five.

The agency said there were three carbon monoxide-related deaths at a home that have been classed by authorities in Jefferson parish as storm-related.

The fourth death announced on Thursday afternoon was a 65-year-old who drowned in floodwaters.

Images from New York and New Jersey show how people have been affected by the extreme weather.

Here are some of the latest pictures.

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As north-eastern and south-eastern US states battle extreme weather conditions from Ida, another natural disaster is raging along the western coast.

The White House earlier this week declared an emergency in the state of California, where the damage from ongoing wildfires is on pace to exceed last year's record fire season.

Firefighters are struggling to gain ground against the Caldor Fire, which has burned over 200,000 acres, passing through the popular vacation area of Lake Tahoe.

Over 600 structures have been destroyed so far. The fire continues to pose a threat to more than 32,000 buildings, and thousands of residents have been forced to flee.

Meanwhile, the Dixie Fire - the second-largest in the Golden State's history - has scorched its way through more than 800,000 acres of land in northern California.

Thousands in Northern Manhattan have been told to refrain from using energy-intensive appliances in order to preserve energy.

Energy company Con Edison on Thursday asked people not to use washers, dryers and microwaves until their crews complete repairs. Residents have also been asked to limit air conditioner use.

In a statement, the company said the request applies to 78,000 customers in the Upper East Side, Yorkville, East Harlem and Carnegie Hill neighbourhoods.

Here are the latest numbers on people without power across Ida-hit states, according to PowerOutage.us:

• Louisiana: 879,095
• Mississippi: 26,657
• Pennsylvania: 55,059
• New York: 17,535

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Parts of Louisiana and Mississippi have also been left devastated by the effects of Hurricane Ida.

Coastal areas have been some of the hardest hit. Satellite images taken on Tuesday show extensive damage along the Gulf Coast and southern Louisiana following the fifth strongest storm to ever reach the US mainland.

• Hurricane Ida: Before and after images reveal devastation

With President Biden blaming global warming for the latest flash flooding, a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says minorities will be the worst hit by the effects of climate change in the US.

The EPA found Native Americans are more likely to reside in areas at risk of flooding. African Americans are more likely to live in areas with the largest projected increases in heat-related deaths, as well as regions expected to see more child asthma diagnoses with rising temperatures.

The peer-reviewed report comes days after Hurricane Ida destroyed dozens of homes of black and lower-income residents in Louisiana and Mississippi.

"The impacts of climate change that we are feeling today, from extreme heat to flooding to severe storms, are expected to get worse, and people least able to prepare and cope are disproportionately exposed," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

Tropical Storm Ida lost its strongest winds after making landfall over the southern US - but it held on to all of the moisture it picked up over the warm ocean water.

As it moved north-east, it dumped 80mm of rain over New York City in the space of just one hour, causing flash flooding.

It was the second hourly rainfall record set in the city in the space of just a few weeks, as BBC Weather's Nick Miller explains.

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President Joe Biden will travel to Louisiana on Friday to “survey storm damage from the hurricane," White House press secretary Jen Psaki has confirmed.

“He’ll meet with state and local leaders, I would expect that will include the governor and the mayor, from impacted communities,” she said, adding that the details of the trip “are still being finalised”.

Psaki added that approximately 50,000 households in the state have so far received payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support their immediate needs.

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Louisiana was the first state to face Ida when it made landfall there on Sunday as the fifth strongest hurricane to reach the US mainland.

The southern state continues to face dire conditions. President Biden is due to visit Louisiana on Friday.

Here's the latest:

• Four nursing home residents who were evacuated with 800 others to a warehouse with extremely poor living conditions have died of possibly storm-related causes, local media reported
• More than 900,000 homes across Louisiana remain without power. Entergy Louisiana, the largest electric company, said it hopes to complete its damage assessments by today
• Power was returned today to 160,000 households and at least 10 hospitals
• The Biden administration is planning to release 1.5m barrels of crude oil from the national emergency stockpile, as CNN reports that two-thirds of gas stations in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are out of supply
• Aerial imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revealed a miles-long oil slick near a large oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico

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State and local officials in storm-hit parts of the US are cautioning residents to avoid the floodwaters and stay put.

Experts have highlighted many dangers of wading into the waters, including bacterial infection from sewage, electric shock from downed power lines or appliances, water-dwelling animals like alligators and snakes, and the risk of simply being swept away.

On Monday, an elderly man in Slidell, Louisiana, was attacked by a large alligator while walking in the floodwaters outside his home.

Several people have also died trying to drive through rapidly rising waters and ending up trapped in their cars.

In Connecticut, a state trooper died after his cruiser was swept away by floodwaters, officials say.

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Here's a recap of what's happened so far today as Storm Ida made its way across the north-eastern US:

• Over 23 people have died in Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia due to flash floods caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida
• Just under a million people in Louisiana remain without power after Ida made landfall there on Sunday

• At least nine people were confirmed dead in New York, eight of whom were residents trapped in basement apartments

• Most of New York's subway system has been partially suspended after water flooded into stations
• State emergencies have been declared in New York and New Jersey, while residents in New York City were told to move to higher ground
• President Joe Biden has blamed global warming for the flooding
• Biden said the government is working to help restore power in hard-hit Louisiana and federal first responders were on the ground to help clean up

We've been speaking to residents in New York and New Jersey about their experiences of the flooding. This is what they told us:

Mark, 35 - Whitehouse Station, New Jersey

Last night in our basement it started to pour through the windows like a waterfall. After we went down to look at that it also started to leak through our electrical panel.

The fire chief came out and said he had to shut our power off.

Now, we’re stuck in a hotel until we can get an electrician out who will check that we’re OK to get the panel back on, and then we have to get the power company back out to reconnect the power to the house, and then we’re going to have to pump the water out of the basement.

When we were driving to the hotel, it was like a lake at points.

The dog is at the hotel with us. The fire chief’s wife took our pet cats to look after them at the firehouse.

Tedla Asfaw, 60 - Flushing, New York

Our condo is built in a lower area so we are prone to flooding, but what I saw last night is unimaginable. I have never seen water coming in all directions.

There’s huge damage here. It is a big hit for us. It’s going to cost us money.

When the flooding hit, my neighbour living downstairs came to my door and said: "Help me."

When I went there, what I saw was that her bathroom was flooded, her living room was flooded. Their apartment was completely ruined.

The only thing we could do was try to get rid of the water, but there was nowhere to put the water. So it was just a waiting game until the rain stopped.

I don’t want to have to deal with this every few years because it’s going to cost us money and it might cost lives as well. We need to really think about what we should do about such disasters.

Ravi, 48 - Mamaroneck, New York

We were thinking it would be about a foot maximum, but it was 10 to 12ft (3-3.6m).

There has been huge property loss, huge damage everywhere. It’s pretty awful.

We had information that a storm was coming but nobody said it was going to be so bad.

The water just gushed in and caught us by surprise.

Cars were totally submerged.

The elevators, the lobby, all the furniture have been destroyed.

Interviews edited for length and clarity

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New Jersey's largest dairly farm has been devastated by a tornado that hit the property on Wednesday evening.

Wellacrest Farms say they have been left with major structural damage, after Hurricane Ida toppled several large silos and tore the roofs off buildings that house 1,400 cows.

Many cows were trapped under fallen sheds and some died, the owners wrote on their Facebook page.

"The heart of this town is and always has been our farming community," the farm's owners wrote.

"Along with the devastating loss of homes in our neighborhoods - we, as a community, suffer a great loss with the destruction of our farms."

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New York residents are still being advised to avoid unnecessary travel on the city's subway trains.

The system remains affected by floodwaters - one line is closed, 12 are partially suspended, and nine are experiencing delays, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s website.

Water had flooded onto subways and buses, shutting down almost every line in the city.

There have been extraordinary pictures of water surging onto the platforms and tracks.

A home in New Jersey exploded hours after being evacuated because of flooding, police say.

The house, located in the town of Rahway was destroyed by the powerful blast at 05:45 EST. The residents had left about four hours earlier.

Quoting local police, US media reported that a man who was driving past when the explosion happened suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

Several surrounding houses were damaged.

On Wednesday, heavy flooding was reported in Rahway, prompting the evacuation of dozens of residents to a local school for shelter.

On Wednesday night, New York's famous Central Park recorded the most ever rainfall in an hour since records began in 1889.

Between 20:51 and 21:51 EST, the park recorded 3.15in of rain, beating a previous record set just last month, on 21 August, of 1.94in.

On Twitter, city council member Mark Levine said that a total of 7.19 inches fell in the park on Wednesday night.

“Meteorologists are calling it a once in 500-year event,” he said. “But of course, that standard has to be entirely thrown out now. We are in uncharted territory.”

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We've previously told you that a number of New York officials have warned that the destruction of Storm Ida could happen again - NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said it could be "much worse" in the future.

Improvements in infrastructure would help mitigate this, New York governor Kathy Hochul said at a news conference on Thursday.

“This is the first time we’ve had a flash-flood event on this proportion in the city of New York and in the outlying areas,” Hochul said. “We haven’t experienced this before but we should expect it next time.”

“That means we have to continue investments in infrastructure,” she added. “I don’t want this to happen again.”

As an example, the governor said that more funding could improve drainage.

“When the streets get flooded, what happens next? The water rushes down, not just through the highways, but finds its way to penetrate our subway system.”

Queens borough president Donovan Richards said he believes more people will die in the future if infrastructure is not improved.

“We need it today,” he said. “Those lives could have been saved if we had investment that we sorely needed a long time ago.”