A man tries to empty a manhole cover in Brooklyn, New York, this Friday.Jake Offenhartz (AP)
Unusually heavy rains flooded basements, streets and numerous subway stations in New York this Friday, as well as the facilities of a hundred schools, even though those in charge of the centers recommended that students stay indoors because it was outside. The risk was According to several local media outlets, the situation is even greater due to trees falling on sidewalks and streets. The intensity of the rains that led to the declaration of a state of emergency in the city, Long Island and the Hudson Valley has been described as “threatening” – meaning potentially deadly – to people’s safety. The Big Apple almost collapsed this afternoon when part of the subway route, the city’s main artery, was flooded. The warning reaches more than 8.5 million people, the estimated population of the suburbs as well as neighboring states, particularly New Jersey.
After New York State Governor, Democrat Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency, their deadlines were extended as the hours passed. Warnings sent by authorities to mobile networks have been gradually expanded as torrential rain is expected to continue throughout the day, at least until the early hours of Saturday. According to the governor’s announcement, “all state agencies will provide the necessary resources to address this extreme weather event,” which is unprecedented in the city since Hurricane Ida, which devastated the East Coast of the United States in late August 2021.
In a news conference following Hochul’s announcement, the city’s mayor, Eric Adams, also a Democrat, warned that some areas of the city “could see water levels rise by up to 20 centimeters before the end of this period.” The warning urges citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and to seek refuge in higher ground and evacuate basements at risk of flooding if necessary. In September 2021, Ida’s tail hit the basement houses (basements of buildings used as apartments despite the absence of a certificate of occupancy, which is common in the most popular neighborhoods), causing the deaths of fifteen people. Combined with neighboring states, the death toll from the devastation of Ida was nearly fifty across the entire East Coast.
At numerous subway stations in Brooklyn County, water entered lobbies and platforms with the force of a flash flood. By 3:00 p.m. local time, five lines were closed, while the others experienced significant delays. Surface circulation was also affected by the closure of three major arteries (two in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan). The Metropolitan Transportation Service (MTA) has announced cuts to all services due to flooding, while the recently remodeled LaGuardia International Airport closed one of its terminals due to adverse weather conditions and JFK suffered disruptions to departures and arrivals. Hochul has insisted that the mayor’s reference to the rise in water levels “seems like a few centimeters, but it is enough to wash away vehicles or cause other flooding that could take people’s lives,” referring to gargoyles, which have flooded many basement apartments in a few minutes along Ida’s path.
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