New York floods highlights: Streets, subways snarled by downpour

Multiple New York City subway lines were shut and streets inundated Friday morning after torrential rain pelted the metropolitan area. Watch

There was frustration Friday from New Yorkers who were dealing with flooded basements and damaged property.

Storm drains simply could not keep up with the pounding rain earlier in the day.

The water has since subsided, but the flooding was so bad one restaurant owner told CBS New York she would have had to swim through the street to reach her front door.

Instead, she watched the water rise on her surveillance cameras, and by the time the flood went down, her outdoor dining structure had been washed away.

That's just one New Yorker's story, but this storm reached everyone.

Heavy rains overnight in the northeastern United States left parts of New York under water on Friday, partially paralyzing subways and airports in America's financial capital.

LaGuardia airport closed down one of its terminals, with social media images showing passengers walking through water well above the tops of their shoes.

Mayor Eric Adams urged people not to venture out because the streets were blocked and subway stations flooded.

"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," he said.

Some 8.65 inches (21.97 centimeters) of rain had fallen at John F. Kennedy Airport by nightfall Friday, surpassing the record for any September day set during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said.

Parts of Brooklyn saw more than 7.25 inches (18.41 centimeters), with at least one spot recording 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) in a single hour, according to weather and city officials.

One of New York's wettest days in decades left the metropolitan area stunned and swamped Friday after heavy rainfall knocked out several subway and commuter rail lines, stranded drivers on highways, flooded basements and shuttered a terminal at LaGuardia Airport for hours.

Some 8.65 inches (21.97 centimeters) of rain had fallen at John F. Kennedy Airport by nightfall Friday, surpassing the record for any September day set during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said.

Parts of Brooklyn saw more than 7.25 inches (18.41 centimeters), with at least one spot recording 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) in a single hour, according to weather and city officials.

More downpours were expected Saturday.

In a first, a Sikh Granthi from New Jersey offered prayers to start the proceedings of the US House of Representatives.

Granthi Giani Jaswinder Singh from Pine Hill Gurdwara in New Jersey started the day's proceedings at the House on Friday. The prayers before the proceedings are normally offered by a Christian priest.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced that Singh would start the proceedings.

Taking up the floor soon after the prayers, Congressman Donald Norcross described this as a historic occasion. He is the first Sikh chaplain to make prayers in the US House of Representatives.

“The history made today is a reminder that the United States welcomes and values and will remain committed to free expression of religion. Giani Singh has made South Jersey proud today and it is an honour to be a part of this moment with him,” Norcross said.

New York City officials on Friday urged residents in basement apartments to seek higher ground. In September 2021, more than 40 people died across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut when the region saw flash floods in areas because of the remnants of Hurricane Ida. In New York City, many flood victims were people living in basement apartments who were unable to escape the rising water.

The world is seeing more extreme weather as it grapples with a changing climate. Record warm conditions across large parts of the Atlantic this year have fueled storms in some areas, while drought in others has contributed to massive wildfires and struggling crops and farmers. The world had its warmest August in at least 174 years in 2023.

A flood watch covered New York City and the region until 6 a.m. Saturday, but was later canceled for all but New Haven County, Conn., and Suffolk County on Long Island.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Mayor Eric Adams issued a separate state of emergency for New York City.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the New York City area could get 10 inches of rain in all, and warned residents to take it seriously.

“This is Hurricane Ida-level waters,” Hochul said, referring to the storm that struck New York City in 2021 that caused flooding all over the city, killing some in their basement apartments.

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported in the storm that struck New York today, but there have been rescues at basement apartments and from stalled vehicles.

LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal A reopened tonight after being closed earlier due to flooding, the airport said.

“All access to Terminal A is currently opened. All operations have resumed normal,” the airport said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The terminal had been closed earlier today due to floods from heavy rains that struck New York City and the region. LaGuardia got 4.87 inches of rain as of 5 p.m.

Roads were closed, subway services were disrupted and basements were overwhelmed in the New York City area after “dangerous and life-threatening” torrential rain surged across the concrete expanse on Friday, CNN reported.

A month’s worth of rain – more than 4 inches – fell over parts of Brooklyn in just three hours. Intense rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were falling across the region, and the National Weather Service warned totals exceeding 8 inches “are increasingly likely” in parts of the tri-state area.

The heaviest rainfall began to ease across hard-hit portions of Manhattan and Brooklyn late Friday morning, but another round is expected in the afternoon and could reinvigorate dangerous flooding.

Flood watches that had been in place for the New York City and the tri-state area until tomorrow were canceled for all but part of Connecticut and Long Island late tonight, the weather service said.

Rain walloped the New York metropolitan area with a startling punch Friday, knocking out several subway and commuter rail lines, stranding drivers on highways, flooding basements and shuttering a terminal at LaGuardia Airport for hours in one of the city's wettest days in decades, reports AP.

More than 7.25 inches (18.41 centimeters) of rain had fallen in parts of Brooklyn by nightfall, with at least one spot seeing 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) in a single hour, according to weather and city officials. The 8.65 inches (21.97 centimeters) at John F. Kennedy Airport surpassed its record for any September day, a bar set during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said.

And more downpours were expected.

Multiple New York City subway lines were shut and streets inundated Friday morning after torrential rain pelted the metropolitan area, prompting warnings about flooding in the city as well as Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey, reported Bloomberg.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said there was no 2, 3, 4, 5 subway service in Brooklyn. B and W trains were also suspended, and other lines were seeing delays, the agency said in a series of alerts.