Representative image.
| Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR

Heavy overnight rains have partially paralysed New York. A state of emergency has been declared in the city that witnessed one of its wettest days in decades. Airports and subways are not fully operational due to waterlogging in parts of the US financial capital.

Flyers had to wade through floodwaters to enter the city’s LeGuardia airport, showed visuals on social media. The airport has shut one of its terminals too.

Heavy rains overnight in the northeastern United States left parts of New York City under water on Friday, partially paralyzing subways and airports in the country’s financial capital
Check out pic.twitter.com/WIbs4oboEo

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 29, 2023

Half-submerged cars, blocked roads and traffic jams crippled movement in the city. Mayor Eric Adams has urged people not to venture out.

“If you are home, stay home. If you are at work or school, shelter in place for now, some of our subways are flooded and it’s extremely difficult to move around the city,” appealed Mr Adams.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who declared a state of emergency across New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, asked residents to plan their “escape routes” and not wait till water levels “crossed their knees”. 

More rainfall is expected in the city.

Transportation Hit

Several lines of the New York subway system are closed in Brooklyn as water poured down the steps and through the ceilings of some stations.

Record-setting rain hit New York City today, sending flash floods throughout the city’s streets and into basements, schools, subways and vehicles in the nation’s most populous city.#flashflood#flashflooding#flooding#flood#newyork#newyorkcity#nyc#brooklyn#rainpic.twitter.com/MEWum2nPz3

— Aldrich (@observer888888) September 29, 2023

Subways in New York#flashflooding#flooding#flood#newyork#newyorkcity#nyc#brooklyn#rain#rainstorm#storm#streetflooding#sel#abd#usa#BREAKING#williamsburg#NewJersey#manhattan#queens#WeatherUpdate

pic.twitter.com/F8aXSkr4oR

— Musa Kayrak (@musakayrak) September 29, 2023

Ahmed Abdou, a cab driver in New York, told AFP this was a regular phenomenon and the subway system is “terrible”.

The New York subway is one of the world’s largest such train network with 420 stations and over 30 lines, an essential part of millions of residents of who rely on it to reach school and workplaces.

Trains were cancelled at the Grand Central Terminal in the heart of Manhattan, stranding passengers heading towards suburbs for hours.

The flash flood has also raised concerns over global warming.

Rohit Aggarwala Overall, the city’s Environmental Protection Commissioner, told AFP that climate change is behind the changing weather pattern and the infrastructure response is not able to pace up.