New York City hit with serious flooding, state of emergency declared

New York City has been hit with some serious flooding today because of rainstorms that began a downpour in the area Thursday night. By Friday morning the streets in many parts of the city were a mess. The governor has declared a state of emregency.

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Heavy rainfall pounded New York City and the surrounding region on Friday, bringing flash floods, shutting down entire subway lines, turning major roadways into lakes and sending children to the upper floors of flooding schoolhouses. Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, urging New Yorkers to stay home and singling out those who live in basements to brace for the worst.

State and city leaders implored residents not to underestimate a storm that flipped from falling rain to fire-hose torrents in minutes. Ms. Hochul called it a “life-threatening rainfall event,” and Mayor Eric Adams called the storm “something that we cannot take lightly and we are not taking lightly.” The city’s residents, while largely caught by surprise, took heed and many stayed home and off the roads….

Boys and girls slogged through deep water on 11th Avenue to reach their elementary school classes while neighbors with rakes tried to clear storm drains of dense fallen leaves.

“No children are in danger as far as we know,” the governor said. But some schools asked parents to return during the storm to pick up their children, which school officials later said was “precisely the wrong thing to do.”

“Truthfully, holding school today knowing this was coming feels irresponsible,” said Jessamyn Lee, a Brooklyn parent of two.

New York City and New Jersey have also declared states of emergency. From what I can tell online Brooklyn seems to be getting the worst of it.

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This was taken inside a city bus:

And another one:

A lot of garbage floating in the streets:

Not sure what this construction worker was trying to do. Hope he got out okay.

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Stairs have become waterfalls:

Trees have fallen from the oversaturated ground:

Park Slope is a neighborhood in Brooklyn which was very hard hit:

And of course all of this water keeps seeking a lower level which means the subways are in trouble:

Some people are wading through water to get to the trains.

According to CNN, the city hasn’t seen this much rain in a single day since 1948.

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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 that filled 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.

The city was clearly unprepared for this and there will no doubt be days of blame passed around once the immediate problem is over. Rain is expected to continue tonight but then to taper off. Forecasters had predicted the chance of a serious storm earlier in the week but the severity of it was upgraded yesterday.

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