New York City has declared a state of emergency as the city prepares to be dumped with up to seven inches of rain on Friday, in a final blow from Tropical Storm Ophelia.
‘I am declaring a State of Emergency across New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley due to the extreme rainfall we’re seeing throughout the region,’ governor Kathy Hochul said. ‘Please take steps to stay safe and remember to never attempt to travel on flooded roads.’
Mayor Eric Adams, who did not address the flooding until late in the morning, told New Yorkers to ‘take extreme caution’ and stay home, or otherwise shelter in place for now, warning the city could even see ‘eight inches of rain before the day is over.’
The rainfall, which has already reached a rate of one to two inches an hour, significantly affected the morning commutes of millions of New Yorkers, with social media users sharing footage of the chaotic scene across the area, including shocking video of a flooded subway stations and buses.
Brooklyn and Queens have been hit particularly hard this morning, with Brooklyn seeing a month’s worth of rain – four inches – falling over parts of Brooklyn in just three hours. Other parts of the city has seen as much as five inches before 11am and subway services are largely suspended, with hundreds stranded at Grand Central station.
During a press conference on Friday the press grilled mayor Eric Adams about why he did not speak up sooner about the dangerous flooding on Friday
New York City has declared a state of emergency as the city prepares to be dumped with up to seven inches of rain on Friday. Traffic makes its way through flood waters along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway on Friday
Other parts of the city has seen as much as five inches before 11am and subway services are largely suspended. Brooklyn flooding is pictured above
A person walks away from his vehicle after it got stuck in high water on the Prospect Expressway
New York’s John F Kennedy airport already recorded over three inches of rain since midnight, and Terminal A at LaGuardia has been closed due to weather conditions.
Many took issue with Adams’ late response, and the fact he didn’t issue any warnings earlier, specially after the mayor hosted a birthday fundraiser in Inwood the night before. During a press conference on Friday the press grilled Adams about why he did not speak up sooner. The mayor responded by saying his deputies were dealing with the situation, saying ‘leadership is not only the mayor.’
One social media user said: ‘Too little too late, people are already at work and children are at school.’
‘We have notified NYC using various social media channels. Commissioner has been speaking about this yesterday…All the necessary precautions were taken,’ Adams shot back. ‘We’ve gone through these conditions before and followed the right protocol. They put in place a situation of communication using virtual methods.. and monitoring the situation doing what they needed to be done.’
The downpour is expected to continue into Saturday and soak the tri-state area, with the National Weather Service calling it dangerous and life-threatening, and extending a flood watch from 2am on Friday through the night.
The area from Central New Jersey to Manhattan, Long Island and into Southern Connecticut and the Hudson Valley are forecast to see the most rainfall. Philadelphia and Boston could also see up to two inches of rain, and Hartford up to three inches or more.
Parts of the city has seen as much as five inches before 11am and subway services are largely suspended, according to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.
While most of the tri-state area is expected to get three to five inches of rainfall, some areas further out from NYC’s five boroughs could get as much as seven. The counties of Nassau, Queens and Kings, which includes Brooklyn, are either experiencing flooding on Friday morning or expected to.
‘I just spoke with about the flooding emergency in NYC. MTA is working hard to get the subway system rebooted and up and running again for evening rush. Another round of extreme rain in afternoon may complicate. Alternate buses may be deployed. More details soon,’ Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine posted on X.
Hochul’s office said it is deploying flood rescue teams to the Hudson Valley and Long Island.
The potential flood threat can be dangerous for cities like New York, considering how Hurricane Ida drowned 11 including a two-year-old boy in their basement apartments in 2021.
The rainfall has already reached a rate of one to two inches an hour. Park Slope, Brooklyn is pictured above
Brooklyn and Queens have been hit particularly hard this morning. Park Slope, Brooklyn is pictured above
New York City was drenched on Friday as flash flooding hit the roads during rush hour and up to seven inches of rain are forecast. The Prospect Expressway in Mamaroneck in Westchester County is pictured above
Flooding in Queens is pictured above
During Ida, the city experienced between six and ten inches of rain in 24 hours. Brooklyn resident Steve Kastenbaum posted a picture of the flooding in Flushing Avenue on Brooklyn, calling it ‘worse than Ida.’
NYC officials sent an emergency alert to cellphones about 9.30am. It read: ‘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.’
The rain is supposed to lighten by Friday evening but will spill into Saturday morning. City officials issued a travel advisory starting at 4am Friday through 6am Saturday, warning potential ‘widespread travel impacts’ during the morning commute.
The MTA said the rain will ‘inevitably’ cause issues in the subway system, and some routes have already been affected.
‘There are no 2/3/4/5 service in Brooklyn. We’ll provide more details shortly while we address water on the tracks in Brooklyn,; the MTA posted on Friday morning.
The potential flood threat can be dangerous, considering how Hurricane Ida drowned 11 including a two-year-old boy in their basement apartments in 2021. Queens pictured above
The MTA said the rain will ‘inevitably’ affect the subway systems, and some routes have already been affected. Brooklyn is pictured
Mayor Eric Adams shared a warning about the severe weather expected in NYC
Amtrak services originating out of New York’s Penn Station have also been affected and may experience delays, Amtrak said on X.
Hochul said earlier on Friday: ‘Brooklyn is seeing some of the heaviest impacts of this rainstorm — all Brooklynites should be extremely careful right now.’
The MTA tried to get ahead of the storm as workers started checking storm drains at the 157th Street subway station on Thursday.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said: ‘No matter what we do, there is going to be water in the subway system … The good news is this system is designed to take water and to pump it out in huge amounts,’
The MTA will monitor conditions and make repairs as needed throughout the storm after activating its 24-hour situation room.
Lieber added in a statement: ‘This is a serious storm, and we’re taking it seriously.’
Even a mere inch of rain could lead to flooding in certain areas of NYC and nearby regions that still remain saturated from last weekend’s storm.
The rainfall, which has already reached a rate of one to two inches an hour, significantly affected the morning commutes of millions of New Yorkers
The downpours are occurring due to the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia with converging winds located just to the north
The MTA tried o get ahead of the storm as workers started checking storm drains at the 157th Street subway station on Thursday
The downpours are caused by the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia, experts said
The downpours are occurring due to the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia with converging winds located just to the north, Fox Weather meteorologist Greg Diamond told The Post.
New Yorkers were warned to prepare to seek higher ground on Sunday as post-tropical cyclone Ophelia continued to hammer the East Coast with wet weather.
Ophelia was a tropical storm at near-hurricane strength when it crashed down near Emerald Isle in North Carolina on September 24.
It knocked out power and flooded coastal streets. States of emergency were declared last week in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland.