A man tries to clean a pipe in the Brooklyn borough of New York, September 29, 2023. JAKE OFFENHARTZ / AP
We knew it would rain: the French school sports trip had been canceled on Tuesday. But not to this extent. It was a deluge, brutal, the likes of which New York does not normally experience. Fifteen centimeters of water fell on Manhattan on Friday, September 29th, while JFK Airport was flooded by eight centimeters, a record since 1948.
For the first time we heard the shrill alarm tones on every phone: “Flash flood warning. This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing a flooded area or have an evacuation order. » On the ground floor of our sandstone house, these brown houses from the beginning of the 20th century, the water cannot drain away and the pressure is so great that the water rises through the pipes through the closing valves and floods the living room cushions. More fear than damage, as was the case throughout New York, where Mayor Eric Adams listed no casualties. There were three rescue missions in basements and fifteen in cars.
However, in times of climate change, New York is not prepared for torrential rains. It was not the Indian summer of September with its usual sunshine and temperatures around 20°C, but a humid atmosphere with the tails of hurricanes from the tropics passing offshore, making it the wettest September in over a century.
In the New York borough of Brooklyn on September 29, 2023. ED JONES / AFP
New York’s sewer system is not designed to handle such precipitation. “All drainage systems have their limits, and New York City’s drainage system cannot accommodate more than 1.7 inches of rain per hour. Unfortunately for many New Yorkers, the storm that flooded the area on Friday brought more than two inches of rain between 8 and 9 a.m.,” the New York Times summarized. The 12,000 kilometer long sewage system is blocked. “When it floods that bad, the water backs up,” said Dave Balkan, manager of a wastewater company in Queens. This is when people start to see sewage bubbling out of their drains or basement toilets. »
There is nothing to do except wait and seek shelter if necessary. The receding water flooded streets, drowned cars, blocked highways and paralyzed the subway. The Central Park Zoo was so flooded that a sea lion escaped from its tank. There were flight delays lasting several hours at the city’s airports and one of the terminals at La Guardia Airport even had to temporarily close. The surge as the rain fell made the flooding worse. The spectacular images went around the planet.
You still have 58.32% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.