Heavy rain fell in and around New York City on Friday morning, leading to reports of flash flooding across the region and disrupting service on major subway lines, prompting Gov. Cathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency.
The governor urged New Yorkers to stay home if they could, and said state officials were preparing flood response teams in Nassau and Westchester counties in case of any flash flooding in the suburbs. Mayor Eric Adams was scheduled to hold a news conference with the governor at 11 a.m
“It is critical that all New Yorkers take all necessary precautions and avoid flooded roadways, which are the most dangerous places during flash flooding,” Ms. Hochul said. said in a statement.
The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, set to last until 12:30 p.m. Additional warnings are in effect for the Bronx, Staten Island and Jersey City, NJ, the weather service warned of flash flooding. Affects highways, streets and tunnels.
Video shows cars driving through flooded roads under inches of rain in parts of Queens and Brooklyn, with streets overflowing and sidewalks submerged.
As of 10 a.m., 4.28 inches of rain had fallen in Central Park since Thursday night, according to the weather service, and 3.90 inches since midnight. A half foot of rain has already fallen in Brooklyn, weather office forecasters said.
The rain on Friday followed the rain earlier in the week. It is now the Second-wettest September in New York City historyAccording to National Weather Service statistics: As of 10 a.m., 12.72 inches of rain had fallen this month, more than 140 years since the city recorded 16.85 inches in September 1882..
The Metropolitan Transport Authority warned of “major disruption” to subway services due to flooding. Services were disrupted at several stations in the city since midnight. No 2, 3, 4 or 5 train service In Brooklyn, northbound N trains were delayed, B train service was suspended in both directions and the A, C, and E lines all experienced delays.
Train crews scrambled to adjust service for the morning commute as heavy rain flooded the Canal Street station and flooded the tracks at President Street and 7th Avenue in Brooklyn, where the Franklin Avenue shuttle stopped in both directions.
A crowd stood outside the Clark Street station in Brooklyn Heights around 9 a.m. The tracks were flooded at a stop that sits at one of the deepest underground points in the subway system and takes passengers under the East River to Manhattan.
Hopefuls walked a few blocks away to a train station on High Street where trains would run. But there were major delays and at one point an announcer inexplicably advised passengers, most of whom were heading to Manhattan, to consider taking the Long Island Railroad.
As the barriers give way and the water rushes downstream, a woman approaches a companion and berates herself for leaving her rain gear at home. A teenage boy ducks out of the way of a pink unicorn umbrella that threatens to punch him in the face.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, floodwaters spilled onto sidewalks. Many tried to brave the morning commute, bundling babies in rain jackets and rushing with waterlogged shoes toward Q Station at the corner of 83rd Street and Second Avenue. Undaunted by the heavy downpour, a man wades down a flooded sidewalk for his morning jog.
All lanes of Belt Parkway at Cropsey Avenue in Brooklyn were closed in both directions due to flooding, parts of the FDR Drive were delayed and all lanes of Cross Island Parkway were closed. More than 3 inches of rain was reported in the area around Kennedy International Airport in Queens. At La Guardia, passengers were told Avoid the area around terminal AClosed.
Heavy rains are dangerous for people living in tens of thousands of basement flats across the city. Many of the apartments, often rented to immigrants or others for affordable housing, are not legally rented and do not have adequate means of escape in case of rushing water.
In 2021, flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed 11 people living in stilt houses. The city has long been aware of the dangers of the vast network of basement homes and has sought to legalize them so they are held to higher safety standards. But, so far they have failed to do so.
In another interview Friday morning, the governor told NBC officials had received reports from some schools that had been flooded, though he said no children were “at risk.”
In some cases students were moved to higher floors or parents were alerted to pick them up, he said.
“It was a 20-hour event,” Ms. Hochul said on NBC. “Twenty hours from now, it will still be an event.”
Claire Fahy, Mihir Zaveri, Jonah E. Bromwich, Emma Fitzsimmons, Louis Ferre-Saturni, Judson Jones, Patrick McKeehan, Ginia Bellafante, But hey, Andy Newman And Andrew K Contributed report.
