Weather

The remnants of Hurricane Ida led to fatal flooding and destruction in New York and New Jersey, and the area's under a state of emergency Thursday as everyone deals with the aftermath.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency in NYC for the first time -- not to mention a tornado watch -- as torrential rains flooded streets and subway lines, swept away cars, suspended flights, and destroyed buildings and homes overnight.

Sadly, the storm has also resulted in 9 reported deaths, including a mother and her 22-year-old son who were killed when a building partially collapsed in Queens.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio called the storm a "historic weather event" and warned citizens to stay inside and away from the dangerous conditions on the city streets. A travel ban was also imposed until 5 AM to keep people safe.

Photos and videos from the storm show just how terrifying and dangerous things got, with cars almost completely submerged on the streets and passengers standing on the seats of a bus trying to make its way down Broadway in Queens.

The severe storm conditions weren't limited to the Northeast either ... Cardi B's also dealing with flooding hundreds of miles south in her 22,000-sq-ft Atlanta-area mansion.

Hurricane Ida has forced the Saints to move their season-opener against the Packers out of New Orleans ... with the NFL announcing the game has been officially relocated to Florida.

The league said on Wednesday that due to storm damage and the ongoing efforts to recover from it all in New Orleans ... the Saints' highly anticipated Sept. 12 Week 1 matchup will now be played at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.

"The decision was made, in consultation with state and local officials and both clubs, in the interest of public safety," the NFL said, adding the game's kickoff time will remain at 4:25 PM ET.

It's unclear if any further Saints games will need to be moved.

The Saints announced earlier this week that the Superdome did not sustain any major damage as Ida pounded the city ... though the team's head coach, Sean Payton, did say he now expects the Saints to be away from New Orleans for about a month.

John Schneider's production studio lot in Louisiana has been ravaged by Hurricane Ida, and while his life was spared, the actor needs some help.

The 'Dukes of Hazzard' star's movie/TV magic sanctuary in Holden, LA got torn up this week as Ida continues to rip through the area. Among the casualties on his property was a massive tree that toppled over, crashing down onto his orange "General Lee" stunt car.

Don't worry ... it ain't John's one and only -- he has several models on hand.

John's rep tells us he's doing just fine, but was off the grid for a while due to bad cell service ... he's leaving for Nashville in just a few hours.

With that said ... JS uploaded a video that's pretty sad to watch considering the devastation he -- and thousands of other Louisianans -- are going through right now. He's asking the public to give him a hand by going to his studio store and buying merch ... which is gonna go a long way to getting the place up and running again.

French Olympian snowboarder Julie Pomagalski -- who won a World Championship in 1999 -- has died after an avalanche in the Swiss Alps on Tuesday.

She was 40.

The French Ski Federation made the announcement Wednesday .. saying Pomagalski and a guide, Bruno Cutelli, died in the accident.

Police say the cause of the avalanche is unknown at this time.

Pomagalski was a two-time Olympian for France ... finishing 6th in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City games ... and also competed in the 2006 games in Torino, Italy.

She was also the 1999 World Champion in snowboard cross, and won the 2004 Snowboard World Cup and was Vice-World Champion in parallel giant in 2003.

Skiing runs in Pomagalski's family ... her grandfather, Jean Pomagalski, invented the first ski lift in 1934 and is the founder of POMA, a manufacturer for chairlifts.

The French Olympics team made a statement Wednesday, saying "the tragic death of Julie, snowboard world champion and Olympian, leaves the France OLY team in mourning for one of their own."

The same day an avalanche in Utah killed four skiers in Salt Lake Valley, another one about 200 miles east swallowed up a pack of snowmobilers ... who lived to tell the tale.

Check out this video that was captured and shared Saturday somewhere in the Uinta Mountains in northeast Utah ... where four to five guys in snowmobiles were riding around on the side of a mountain, when all of a sudden they felt the ground below them rumble.

The guy who posted this, Miles Penrose, says he then saw a wave of snow barreling down at him and his friends and got swept up in the debris -- this after his avalanche backpack chute (almost like an airbag to keep people safe) failed to deploy.

BTW, you can see the avalanche coming ... and it's absolutely terrifying. Incredible that the cameraman was able to hold on and not lose his phone.

Luckily, Miles says he was only taken out about 20 yards, and was able to keep himself on top of the massive snow pile. Next thing he knew, he was searching for his little brother and pals ... the former ended up being buried about five feet deep, but was alive.

So were his other friends, who were scattered about ... but again, seemed relatively unscathed. The same sadly can't be said for a group of four skiers who were killed in a separate avalanche the same day out in Mill Creek Canyon -- while 4 others were badly injured.

Tragic news -- 3 backcountry skiers in Colorado were found dead following a huge avalanche this week ... after being buried in more than 20 feet of tumbling ice and snow.

A group of 7 skiers was traveling between Silverton and Ophir when they accidentally triggered an avalanche near a well-known area called "The Nose" on Feb. 1, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).

The report says the incident happened at an elevation of approximately 11,500 feet ... and 4 members were caught up in the avalanche.

The CAIC states the group was able to find and dig out one of the missing members ... who suffered only minor injuries.

Authorities conducted search and rescue operations to find the remaining 3 skiers … but efforts were suspended after 2 days due to "considerable" avalanche danger for the safety of the search and rescue team.

Unfortunately, the 3 other skiers were found dead, according to San Juan County officials.

Eagle County and the town of Eagle released a joint statement Wednesday ... saying, "the families of Seth Bossung, Andy Jessen and Adam Palmer are allowing us to share their names, so we can all openly acknowledge their deaths and grieve together."

"The families are surrounded by loved ones, and we are asking everyone to respect their wishes as to when and how they wish to communicate with others."

A helicopter is now required to retrieve the 3 bodies due to the damage caused by the avalanche and rugged terrain ... and they will be taken to the San Juan County Coroner's office for positive identification.

Officials say the Ophir Pass has been suspended and people should continue to avoid the area.

2020 has brought us a deadly pandemic, a devastating hurricane, tornados, shocking examples of police brutality ... so really, how surprising is a big earthquake in North Carolina?

A 5.1 quake rocked Sparta, NC Sunday, just after 8 AM. The epicenter is near the Virginia border and was felt in South Carolina and Georgia.

It's the biggest earthquake to hit the area in more than 100 years.

Check out the video ... the beauty salon surveillance video shows the force of the quake as items all around sway back and forth.

The Mayor of Sparta said the quake was so loud it sounded like a train roaring down the track.

Fortunately, no injuries and only minor damage, but the shaking was real.

A 5.1 is a big quake, but typically significant damage usually occurs when a quake is in the 6's or higher. Of course, depending on the way buildings were constructed ... a 5.1 could do serious damage ... though not the case here.

Several states down south are dealing with tornadoes and tornado warnings -- forcing officials to tell residents to take cover, while also social distancing ... if possible. Trying times, to say the least.

With tornadoes having already touched down in Texas and Louisiana this weekend, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency sent out a tweet Sunday showing staffers monitoring the volatile weather patterns that's coming their way soon.

The agency says, "Director Michel and our team are monitoring the weather and standby ready to assist."

They also add a directive regarding social distancing, saying ... "If you go to a public shelter please wear a mask, bandanna, or scarf around your nose and mouth. Practice social distancing. We will get through this!"

Mississippi's guidance on how to properly take shelter in public is similar to what emergency agencies in other states have provided. The common guideline for all is ... socially distance if you can, but hunkering down against something like a tornado -- which could kill you instantly -- is job 1.

Oklahoma said just that in its own directive ... "The need to practice social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19 brings added complications to taking shelter from severe weather." Again, they're giving top priority to tornado protection over the virus.

As the U.S. grapples with the coronavirus outbreak, Arkansas had another natural disaster thrown onto its plate this weekend ... a massive tornado ripping through one of its towns.

A tornado warning was issued Saturday near Jonesboro, AR -- about 2 hours outside of Little Rock -- and not too long after that ... a giant twister touched down on the city and tore through a section of it -- which was caught on video as drivers casually cruised by.

Different angles of the shots that are online right now show just how damn big this thing got -- it looks like it's straight out of the 'Wizard of Oz' or something ... that's how big it appears from afar. You can even see several different items swirling in the air, almost in slow motion. It's just like the movies -- only it's real. Yeah, Dorothy wouldn't have fared well here.

In all seriousness though, it's a scary sight -- especially seeing how low to the ground (all the way, just about) it got and how freakin' close people were to it. Some folks say it was a mere 100 yards away at one point.

Makes you think the tornado might've formed in only a matter of minutes for people to be caught so nearby -- nobody in their right mind would be anywhere near this if they had ample warning.

While there are no immediate reports of deaths at the moment -- thank God -- there was lots of destroyed property to go around. Some buildings were destroyed, cars were flipped over, and tons of debris was tossed every which way. The streets were lined with rubble after the tornado subsided. Fortunately, it doesn't appear to have ruined a majority of the town.

Still, pretty s****y that the good people of Arkansas now have to clean up this mess while trying to get a handle on their own COVID-19 cases. Almost biblical if you think about it.

Taylor Swift is lending a huge hand to her home state -- she's making a million-dollar donation to aid in the aftermath of 2 deadly tornadoes ... TMZ has learned.

Swift says she donated to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund and is encouraging her fans to do the same to help out. Taylor wrote ... "Nashville is my home and the fact that so many people have lost their homes and so much more in Middle Tennessee is devastating to me."

The tornadoes moved through the central part of the state Tuesday, tragically killing at least 24 people and destroying hundreds of buildings before the sun came up. Many more people were injured or left without their homes.

Taylor's million bucks will help the Nashville area and its residents in wake of the disaster, much like her $500k donation did back in 2010 did following a major flood.

Swift, of course, launched her country career in her teens while living in The Music City, which eventually led to her superstardom. She currently owns a home in Hendersonville ... about 20 miles outside of Nashville.