A severe storm dumped more than 7 inches of rain in less than 24 hours over parts of New York City on Friday, turning streets into fast-moving rivers and grinding subway travel to a halt as water cascaded into underground transit stations.
The storm, which hit just two years after flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida battered the five boroughs and killed at least 13 people in the city, laid bare how vulnerable the Big Apple’s aging infrastructure is to extreme weather events that are intensified by climate change. And more than a decade after Hurricane Sandy forced officials to rethink the meaning of climate resilience in New York City, it appears there’s still much to be done.
Heavy rainfall of up to 2.5 inches per hour were reported in some of the hardest-hit places. A number of roads were closed, cars were submerged and several city buses were trapped as a result of flash flooding. Subways, regional rail lines and air travel was suspended or severely delayed, and at least one school in Brooklyn was evacuated during the storm.
Governor Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers to exercise extreme caution if traveling this afternoon and evening, given more rain is on the way for the New York City area, following a widespread six to seven inches of rain since last night across the city. Parts of New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley remain under a Flash Flood Warning, which indicates an imminent threat of fast-moving water that can make travel dangerous and threaten life and safety.
“Today Mother Nature has shown us unprecedented rainfall in a matter of just 24 hours, with more than seven inches of rain in parts of Brooklyn and six inches of rain for other parts of New York City,” Governor Hochul said. “Our focus now is ensuring everyone gets home safe tonight and uses extreme caution when commuting this evening, as more rain is on the way.”
Governor Hochul and MTA CEO Janno Lieber announced this afternoon that Metro-North Railroad will be able to restore limited service from Grand Central Terminal on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines. Harlem Line service will operate between Grand Central and Fleetwood. Governor Hochul urged New Yorkers to take all necessary precautions on their commute home this evening.
Air travel didn’t fair any better. Flight delays hit all three New York City area airports Friday. Flooding inside the historic Marine Air Terminal in New York’s LaGuardia Airport forced it to close temporarily. The terminal, which is the airport’s smallest and serves Spirit and Frontier airlines, was open again Friday night.
Because of swollen rivers and creeks, some flood warnings were set to be in effect into Saturday morning in parts of Connecticut, New Jersey and southern New York, including along the Bronx River.
Some flood warnings By late Friday, flood watches had expired for the region except in Suffolk County on Long Island in New York and parts of northwestern and southern Connecticut, where watches were set to be in effect until Saturday morning.
By City Hall's count, three people had to be rescued from basements and 15 people were rescued from their apartments on Friday. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
As for Hayes' restaurant, well, she hopes to be back open next week, but said the damage will likely set her back $30,000.
Read more
Senator Dianne Feinstein dead at 90 The rest of Bruce Springsteen shows canceled for ulcer treatment
Sarah H
Also on site :
- Eurovision 2025 final viewers defend Remember Monday’s performance after zero points blow
- Jesy Nelson gives birth to ‘fighting strong’ twins after rare pregnancy complications
- Novavax Covid vaccine approved by FDA with new conditions