New York City and its environs are under a wave of flooding and incessant rain that began overnight between Thursday and Friday (Israel time). Terrible scenes of drowning vehicles, flooded train stations and paralyzed roads can be seen on one of the most turbulent and rainy days the country has known.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul also urged residents to avoid leaving their homes and driving on flooded roads. Hochul emphasized that Brooklyn is under one of the heaviest floods seen in the area and asked residents to be careful. "I'm declaring a state of emergency across New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley due to the heavy rains we're seeing in the area," Hochul tweeted earlier.
State of emergency in New York following severe flooding across the city // Reuters
As of 1 a.m. New York time, 44 flights were reported delayed at LaGuardia Airport and 50 flights cancelled due to weather. A high school student in New York City told The Associated Press that "as soon as bus traffic stops, you know it's a bad sign." The city's transportation authority announced that "service across the areas we operate has been severely affected due to the extreme rain" and urged customers to check the service status in their areas before arriving at stations. Due to high demand, transportation apps like Uber and Lyft have dramatically increased their fares.
A flooded train station in the city, photo: Reuters
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city is working with the local transportation authority to address the malfunctions in the city's transportation services, and he also urged residents to stay home. According to the municipality, about 20 centimeters of rain are still expected to continue falling until tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
There was public criticism of Adams today for his belated response to the incident, which went public around 11 p.m., many hours after the stormy weather began. Adams said at a press conference that "all necessary precautions are being taken" and that he trusts the city's work on the issue.
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— headlines bharat (@headlinesblive) September 29, 2023
Despite the weather, downtown New York is still bustling. You can see queues at the entrances to cafes and restaurants which allow tourists and locals a bit of a detachment from what is happening outside. Nikki Carroll, an Israeli who is currently visiting Manhattan, told Israel Hayom: "The weather in New York in recent days is definitely a surprise, reminiscent in terms of temperatures and precipitation of winter days in Israel. Fortunately, it's a city with a huge variety of activities, so there's something to do even on rainy and cold days."
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