“Stay at home”: New York declares a state of emergency due to heavy rain

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Exceptionally heavy rainfall has partially paralyzed the American metropolis of New York on the east coast. Highways and streets turned into lake-like landscapes, and an airport terminal was also flooded and closed. The city government called on people on Friday to stay at home if possible – many metros stopped running or had major delays. Governor Kathy Hochul (65) declared a state of emergency.

Deep puddles formed in many streets and sidewalks between the urban canyons of Manhattan, but also in Brooklyn and Queens, over which large amounts of water splashed. Video footage also showed buses filling up as they moved, and bridge underpasses like those in Central Park were also impassable. According to weather forecasts, the rain should continue at least until Saturday night.

“Life-threatening event”

Hochul called the extreme weather a “life-threatening event” and Mayor Eric Adams (63) warned that the danger has not yet passed. New Yorkers’ cellphones vibrated several times Friday due to automated emergency alerts from the National Weather Service. The thick cloud cover made the streets seem gloomy even in the middle of the day. The weather comes from a persistent low-pressure system created by Tropical Storm Ophelia.

“Services on our network have been seriously disrupted by the extreme rain,” said the public transport company MTA. “Please stay home unless you have to travel.”

LaGuardia Airport, where mainly domestic flights depart and arrive, announces that Terminal A is closed “until further notice”. John F. Kennedy Airport also said rain disrupted operations.

That morning and by mid-morning, more rain had fallen in just a few hours in some parts of New York than normal in a month.

According to information from the New York Times, September is the wettest month in the metropolis in more than 140 years, with a population of 8 million. Since measurements began, more precipitation has only fallen in 1882. Many New Yorkers were reminded of the heavy rain that flooded the city two years ago as a result of Hurricane Ida. At the time, at least eleven people died because their basement apartments became full. (SDA)

Source: Blick