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PHOTOS: Philadelphia Residents Float Down the Highway and Swim in Hurricane Ida Floodwaters

Ida’s arrival to New England brought unprecedented flooding, but Outsiders can depend on Philly to brighten one’s day. Video footage shared to Twitter captured city residents floating the current of Ida’s floodwaters. Others did backflips off of the highways’ overhangs.

We can’t exactly guarantee the safety of this young man of course. It’s a complete mystery what lies beneath those murky waters. Regardless, we’re at least glad he’s able to find the bright side among so much destruction. Although commenters to the Tweet made some pretty accurate observations.

“Bro said any disease will do,” ironically joked one follower. Another wrote, “People really don’t get where the water is overflowing from [do] they?” Another follower added, “swimming in flood water, above the street with underground sewers. fabulous idea!”

Commenters pointed out the possibility of cholera infection or an impaling by some rusty object floating below the water. Many shared hopes that the young man had his tetanus shot.

Overall, we don’t recommend swimming in Philly’s flooded streets. However, we do hope Outsiders may recover physically, mentally, and emotionally after processing Ida’s destruction.

Still, other Philly residents took a slightly more cautious approach to the flooded streets. Passersby saw one man floating an inner tube along with the current. While this idea is only slightly better, we still don’t encourage swimming in Ida’s floodwaters.

As Kylie Cooper wrote in her tweet, “Gotta love Philly.”

Floodwaters Overwhelmed New Jersey Following Hurricane Ida

The fun-loving photos above captured a sunny Thursday in Philly following Ida’s ravaging of the Northeast Coast. However, other areas saw even more flooding and even more destruction. Of the Northeastern states affected by last night’s heavy rains, New Jersey saw some of the worst damage.

Major flooding overwhelmed multiple regions of NJ. The storms spawned several tornadoes in the northeast and provided New York City its first flash flood warning. The rain obviously also resulted in numerous overflowed water and roadways. Like Philly’s network of highways, many of the region’s roadways were completely submerged Wednesday night into Thursday.

Newark airport saw water damage in its lowest level, making it impossible for patrons to retrieve their luggage. New York City subways were completely underwater, buckets upon buckets of water pouring down into the railways.

A monster tornado in Mullica Hill, NJ resulted in the complete demolition of nine area homes and damaging numerous others. The Chesapeake Bay area in Maryland also saw one reported fatality while two individuals are currently unaccounted for.

Until floodwaters ease out of residential areas, Outsiders should continue to exercise caution when near or in Ida’s floodwaters.