Heavy rainfall, floods bring New York City to a halt

Severe rainfall battered New York City on Friday causing widespread disruptions as subways and airports experienced significant issues while roads turned to waterways.

The unprecedented downpour, saw parts of Brooklyn experience almost 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain and nearly 8 inches at JFK Airport — breaking records set in 1960 by Hurricane Donna.

A flash flood warning was also announced for the city.

Images from New York City on social media showed cars partially underwater and congested traffic, with several key roads inundated by floods.

States of emergency declared
State of New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared states of emergency and urged people to stay indoors if possible.

The rains especially hit the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens hard with major flooding.

Emergency services asked people living in basement apartments or flood-prone areas to prepare to move to higher ground. In September 2021, Hurricane Ida caused widespread flooding trapping several people in basement apartments, killing 13.

Although no deaths have been reported from this storm, the city continues to be on high alert.

Residents unhappy
Some residents said they got no warning about the flooding from officials.

Some residents said they got no warning about the flooding from officials.

"We are really, really suffering." Yasiel Ogando, a 38-year-old hospital said. "Broken promises. Nothing gets done. It's really bad. It's terrible."  

Residents pointed out that neighbourhood meetings with city officials to make their area less prone have borne no results.

The city's recently implemented floodgates, which were meant to close automatically if water clogs the streets, were down, blocking traffic on many roads.

What caused the heavy rainfall?
The downpour is attributed to remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia. The storm brought heavy downpours and unrelenting winds last weekend to New York City and caused widespread power outages in nearby areas.

Climate experts assert that climate change has led to more extreme weather patterns globally. As the Earth warms, the resulting hotter atmosphere retains more moisture, leading to increased frequencies of very heavy rainfall, according to their findings.

"This changing weather pattern is the result of climate change. And the sad reality is our climate is changing faster than our infrastructure can respond," Rohit Aggarwala Overall, the city's Environmental Protection Commissioner said.