A New York woman is thankful to be alive after her son, who is legally blind, came to her rescue last week.
Danette Rivera, 47, was at home in Queens on Sept. 1 when the remnants ofHurricane Idacamebarreling up the East Coast, according to theNew York Daily News.
Eventually, she was able to open up a small window leading outside to call for help — and fortunately, her 29-year-old son Justin heard her.
As for Danette, she’s eternally grateful for her son.
“He literally saved my life right when I needed him,” she told the outlet.
Justin Rivera.ABC 7
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
The massive storm — which brought heavy rainfall, flooding, tornadoes and strong winds — killed at least 43 people across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, according toThe New York Times.
In New York City, 11 people who were killed were found in basement apartments, many of which had not been converted into legal residences, reportedThe Washington Post.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has been criticized fornot adequately preparing for Ida, has said that moving forward, a new evacuation strategy will need to be put in place for people who live in basement apartments.
“Now we understand there has to be a different kind of evacuation for folks in basement apartments and in some other areas of the city as well. If we are seeing this kind of rain, we have to have an evacuation mechanism that can reach them,” he said in apress conferencelast week.
Flooding in Brooklyn due to the remnants of Hurricane Ida.ED JONES/AFP via Getty
“We’re really in a tough situation,” he continued, adding that according to Deputy Mayor Vicki Been, there are at least 100,000 people living in illegal apartments in the city, some of whom may fear speaking up about their living conditions due to documentation status or a fear of being evicted.
Noting that figuring out a better evacuation solution will take time, de Blasio said on Tuesday that officials are currently focused on “making sure peoplecan get back in their homes.”
source: people.com
