NYC flooding: Damage assessed after state of emergency declared
Latest developments as New York City is hit by flash floods and state of emergency is declared
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a State of Emergency as flash flooding wreaks havoc across New York City caused by torrential rain pummelling the northeastern US. Mayor Eric Adams likewise asked New Yorkers to stay home or shelter in place.
Brooklyn is particularly hard hit by rising water with shocking videos showing streets and subways underwater. Widespread outages and delays were reported on the MTA, the agency that runs the city’s transit system.
A severe storm lodged over the city, and parts of upstate New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, leading to widespread flood watches and warnings.
The New York area could see an unprecedented amount of rain with between two and five inches having already fallen in some areas since midnight.
Emergency alerts were sent to cellphones in the city at 9.30am local time from the National Weather Service.
“A FLASH FLOOD WARNING is in effect for this area until 12:30pm EDT,” it read. “This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”
A travel advisory was issued by city authorities beginning at 4am on Friday through until 6am on Saturday with the potential for “widespread travel impacts”.
WATCH: Flash flooding causes chaos in New York City
Mayor Adams under fire for rain response
Mayor Eric Adams urged New Yorkers to stay home or “shelter in place” if they had already gone out to work or school. He warned that the city could see eight inches of rain before the storm passes.
Once again, the mayor came under fire after he did not speak publicly to New Yorkers until late Friday morning when conditions were already dire. Mr Adams had been criticized in June for his handling of New York’s air quality threat from Canada’s wildfires.
Read the full story
New York City declares state of emergency
Flight misery at New York airports
As of Friday afternoon, 283 flights were cancelled at LaGuardia Airport and 377 were delayed, according to FlightAware.
The situation is even worse at JFK, where 203 flights were cancelled and 416 flights were delayed.
New York requires flood disclosures in home sales as natural disasters worsen in the state
Ahead of today’s flooding, Gov Kathy Hochul last week signed a bill requiring people selling their homes to disclose whether their properties have been flooded or are at risk for future flooding.
The new law comes as inland areas in the state have become more vulnerable to flooding, with climate change spurring on rising sea levels and more intense storms like the one impacting the city on Friday
The signing will make New York at least the 30th state in the country to require flood disclosures during home sales. New York has a similar law in place for rental properties.
The Independent’s Louise Boyle has the full story.
New York is latest state to require flood disclosures in home sales as storms worsen
WATCH: Transportation disrupted in NYC due to the downpour
Photos of the floods
The Independent captured shocking photos of the floods that are keeping locals indoors and submerging vehicles.
29 September is poised to be the wettest day on record at JFK
Three to six inches of rain had fallen by Friday morning with several more on the way in the next 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Some forecasters warned the flooding has the potential to be “historic”.
“Today is now preliminarily the wettest September day on record at JFK Airport, eclipsing the record from Hurricane Donna in 1960,” NWS tweeted, noting that 6.08inches of rain had fallen since midnight. The previous record was 5.83 inches.
Read more
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments