WASHINGTON, Sep 6 (CGTN) - U.S. President Joe Biden has approved major disaster declarations in and around New York City following last week's catastrophic flash flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

The storm dropped historic rainfall on a large swath of the northeast stretching from Philadelphia to Massachusetts and hit the New York City metropolitan area particularly hard. The entire region was under a flash flood emergency for most of the night Wednesday, and more than 3 inches of rain were recorded in Central Park within just one hour. Flash flooding turned roads into river rapids and flooded homes and apartments. At least 41 people died in the storm and officials are still looking for some people who went missing in the deluge.

Biden is set to visit two of the hardest-hit areas on Tuesday -- New York City and Manville, New Jersey, --- to survey the damage.

The disaster declarations cover Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Westchester County in New York as well as Bergen, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Passaic and Somerset counties in New Jersey.