‘Life threatening’ storm smashes New York

Wild footage has emerged of the ‘life threatening’ floods that forced New York into a state of emergency and have left 23 million people on alert.

‘Life threatening’ storm smashes New York

Wild footage has emerged of whirlpools forming over drains as onlookers wade through hip-high water in New York, where treacherous conditions have led to a state of emergency.

The city was smashed by heavy rainfall as a tropical storm and the supermoon combined, flooding roads, bringing some Subway services to a halt and shutting down a terminal at the city’s LaGuardia Airport.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told CBS News emergency services had done 15 rescues from cars and three from basement apartments as of Friday night.

A month’s worth of rain – about 100mm – fell in the city’s Brooklyn borough in just three hours on Friday morning. More than 200mm was reported at JKF airport as of 5pm, when up to 23 million people remained under flood watches.

An Instagram video published by the New York Post showed a whirlpool swishing above a storm drain on Brooklyn’s 4th Avenue.

Stunned bystanders were seen standing in deep water as cars attempted to drive through the inundated roads.

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

About 7pm Friday, Mr Adams told CBS News the crisis had been managed in a “very, very real way” with “zero injuries and deaths”.

He pushed back against suggestions not enough was done by the city prior to the weather lashing out, telling CBS journalists that a free emergency messaging service notified users about the looming storm Thursday afternoon.

A man clears debris from a drain in floodwater in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

He urged New Yorkers to sign up for the NY-Alert service.

And residents were warned the wild weather may not be over yet, with the National Weather Service forecasting another 25-37mm of rainfall overnight.

🌧️Here are a few of the storm total rainfall amounts. New daily rainfall records were set at some locations.
More rainfall totals here: https://t.co/imrZFAlOyH#NYwx#CTwx#NJwxpic.twitter.com/4YvxtE6JjP

— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) September 29, 2023

Cars sit stuck in the flooded streets in the Red Hook neighbourhood of Brooklyn on September 29. (Photo by SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 29: A car is pushed through flooded streets. (Photo by SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The US’ National Weather Service warned of considerable flood damage being a possibility across New York and surrounding areas of the state as well as neighbouring New Jersey and Connecticut.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said it was a “very challenging weather event”.

A shopkeeper clears floodwater from her store in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

“This a life-threatening event. And I need all New Yorkers to heed that warning so we can keep them safe.”

The bad weather was partly due to the remnants of tropical storm Ophelia, in the Atlantic, pushing moisture to the north east of the US. But the supermoon, the final one of 2023, is also leading to higher tides exacerbating flood fears.

This isn’t good. #parkslope flooding. Bumper cars. pic.twitter.com/0dTMKWJxfn

— Lauren Glassberg (@LaurenGlassberg) September 29, 2023

#WATCH NYC subway is leaking#streets of #Brooklyn#floods#Williamsburg#newyork#nyc#newyork#flashflood#newyorkcity#nyc#brooklyn#rain#rainstorm#downpour#streetflooding#flashflooding#flooding#flood#brooklyn#storm#downpoor#Brooklyn#Viral#ViralVideos#updates🇺🇲 pic.twitter.com/sCeQdlzoUp

— Arun Gangwar (@AG_Journalist) September 29, 2023

Marcy Ave. & Flushing Ave. in Brooklyn. Streets are worse than Ida at 8:45 AM. #flashflood#flashflooding#flooding#flood#newyork#newyorkcity#nyc#brooklyn#rain#rainstorm#storm#downpoor#streetfloodingpic.twitter.com/SMS37h7OVn

— Steve Kastenbaum (@SKastenbaum) September 29, 2023

The storm drenched parts of the city’s Subway system, turning a staircase at the Grand Army Plaza station in Brooklyn into a waterfall, as seen in a bystander’s dramatic video.

Basements were also affected with authorities to warn people in apartments below ground level to move to higher ground.

Mobile phone footage taken on a bus in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighbourhood showed floodwaters gushing into the vehicle filled with passengers, among them children, who tried to stay dry by lifting their feet off the floor.

The Big Apple’s major roads fared no better, as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Belt Parkway and Prospect Park Expressway all turning into rivers teeming with partially flooded cars trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

A general view shows cars stranded in floodwater on the FDR highway in Manhattan, New York on September 29, 2023. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

Cars drive along a flooded street on Church Ave in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn borough New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Railway lines citywide are expecting delays and service changes, the agency said Friday.

“Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order,” an emergency alert sent out late Friday morning warned.

By Friday afternoon, the commuting nightmare eased for some, with one of three Metro-North lines resuming.

The railroad urged people to listen for announcements, as websites and apps may not have current information about arrival times.

– With Clare Sibthorpe