Record-setting rain overwhelmed New York City’s sewer system Friday, sending a surge of floodwater coursing through streets and into basements, schools, subways and vehicles throughout the nation’s most populous city.
The water rose fast and furious, catching some commuters off guard as they slogged through Friday morning’s rush hour. First responders jumped into action where needed, plucking people from stranded cars and basements filling like bathtubs.
More rain fell in a single day at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport – nearly 8 inches – than any other since 1948. A month’s worth of rain fell in Brooklyn in just three hours as it was socked by some of the storm’s most intense rainfall rates Friday morning.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley Friday morning as the worst of the flooding hit. In an interview with New York’s WNBC-TV, she urged residents to stay home because of widespread dangerous travel conditions.
“This is a very challenging weather event,” Hochul said. “This a life-threatening event. And I need all New Yorkers to heed that warning so we can keep them safe.” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also declared a state of emergency for his state Friday afternoon.
Firefighters performed rescues at six basements in New York City flooded by torrents of water, according to the New York City Fire Department.
The water also found its way into 150 of New York City’s 1,400 schools, which remained open on Friday, New York City school chancellor David Banks said at a news briefing.
One school in Brooklyn evacuated when floodwater caused the school’s boiler to smoke, he said.
“Our kids are safe and we continue to monitor the situation,” Banks said.
Floodwater spilled into subways and onto railways and caused “major disruptions,” including suspensions of service on 10 train lines in Brooklyn and all three Metro-North train lines. Gov. Hochul said the city was deploying additional buses to help fill the gap caused by the train outages.
0 Comments