All about Ida | Morning Newsletter

Good morning, everybody.

It looks as if Hurricane — turned tropical storm — Ida’s leftovers are going to track close to Philadelphia, threatening the region with widespread heavy rains and perhaps the most significant flooding along the Delaware River in a decade, forecasters warn. We’ll start with what to brace yourselves for first.

And last week, my buddy Tommy told you about the Quaker mission to rescue an Afghan refugee. The story has taken an encouraging turn.

OK, let’s get into it.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, all of eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and northern Delaware will be under a 36-hour flood watch, declared by the National Weather Service. The potential extent of the rainfall dump? Three to 6 inches of rain in some areas, with the pummeling ending by Thursday morning. Look no further than the South for the full order of Ida’s impact, where the storm blacked out a region.

Downpours have been hit or miss in our region as the end of summer nears, with mostly sun-dappled weekends. But look no further than the official rain gauge at Philadelphia International Airport — known to play a mean game of dodgeball with raindrops — that captured 3.17 inches on Saturday, an Aug. 28 record.

Ever the clear window into the rest of the week, Anthony R. Wood has the full report, so keep reading for all about Ida.

“One man, one life, one future, plucked from the violence of Kabul and from direct Taliban death threats, airlifted to safety on a giant C-17 military plane. One man who worked years for the American forces, rescued by peaceful Quakers who wouldn’t give up even when hopes fell, and by the ex-military officers, Army leaders, Pennsylvania elected officials, and nonprofit groups that jumped in to help in this country and that one,” so begins reporter Jeff Gammage’s story on the Philly Quaker congregation effort that rescued an Afghan interpreter from his homeland.

Bashir befriended David DiFabio, an Air Force veteran, when the Quaker was a civilian communications contractor in Afghanistan. Bashir worked with U.S. armed forces at the Kandahar air base for more than a decade, but his visa paperwork — which came with several recommendations from military supervisors — apparently was rejected because of an error that undercounted his years of service, leaving him stranded. (At least 300 interpreters and family members have been killed in recent years because of their ties to the United States.)

In Plymouth Meeting, about 25 people gathered at the Meetinghouse this past weekend to worship and share how relieved and grateful they felt for everyone who stayed the course to bring Bashir to safety. Keep reading for the whole story of friendship.

We have withheld Bashir’s full name for safety reasons.

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