New York: Two people died in neighboring New Jersey after sudden floods swept the region during the powerful storms that hit the area of New York City from Monday night until Tuesday, immersing cars and flooding the subway stations.
The heavy rain was fast and hard, flooding roads and underground train stations, causing a great interruption of the airport trip, highways and rail services. The emergency teams worked throughout the night while the ascending waters caught the cars and put their lives throughout the region.
More than 2 inches (5 cm) of rain fell within a single hour at the Manhattan Park Central, the second highest amount ever recorded in 60 minutes, according to Mayor Eric Adams.
The images showed flood waters that are poured into several underground stations on Monday night, including a powerful water geyser that sprouted in one on the west side of Manhattan.
The authorities said that the city’s transport system could not cope with the large volume of rain in such a short time. The aged sewerage system is built to manage around 1.75 inches (4.44 cm) per hour, said Rohit Aggarwala, the city’s environmental protection commissioner, while the rains exceeded 4 inches per hour at the height of the storm.
“I probably don’t remember seeing that rain level before,” Adams said.
The governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, declared an emergency state and said that two people had died in Plainfield after their vehicle was dragged by floods.
The victims were found inside a submerged car, Murphy told reporters.
He pointed out that some areas received 6 inches (15.25 cm) of rain in less than two and a half hours, with flood reports in places where it had never occurred before. The governor blamed climate change for the ascending frequency and intensity of such extreme climate.
“That is the new reality,” he said.
In Westchester County, right north of New York City, emergency equipment carried out several water rescue when cars were trapped and closed roads due to floods. Near Rockland County, Nanuet’s suburb saw more than 5 inches (12.7 cm) of rain, according to the National Meteorological Service.
