Subway Stations Flooded... Torrential Rain Turns City into a "Sea of Water"
Damage Reported Across Three States: New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut
On July 14, New York City and nearby areas experienced major disruptions, including subway flooding and flight cancellations, due to sudden heavy rainfall.
According to Yonhap News on July 15, citing Bloomberg and other sources, many subway and train lines in New York faced service suspensions or delays.
On the 14th, sudden heavy rain caused flooding at a subway station in New York, USA. X (formerly Twitter)
The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood warning for all five boroughs of New York City. In some areas, the heavy rain led to flooded subway stations, flight delays, and road closures. The city's Office of Emergency Management instructed residents of basement apartments and low-lying areas to prepare for evacuation to higher ground. In the Richmond Hill area of Queens, about 1,000 people were affected by power outages.
On the 14th, a sudden heavy rain caused flooding at a subway station in New York, USA. Photo by Reuters
The city reported that between 7 and 8 p.m. local time on July 14, more than 5 cm of rain fell, marking the second-highest hourly rainfall on record after the 2021 record of 7.5 cm. According to precipitation data released by the Office of Emergency Management at 7:30 p.m., Staten Island received 4.2 cm of rain and Manhattan's Chelsea area saw 3.7 cm. The National Weather Service stated that after 10 p.m., the heavy rain moved eastward and weakened.
Due to flooding, Line 1 service was suspended in most parts of Manhattan, and several stations on Lines 2 and 3 were also flooded, causing severe delays even after train operations resumed. Metro-North, the commuter rail operator connecting New York City and surrounding areas, also suspended service on parts of the Harlem Line and reported delays on sections of the New Haven Line.
Staten Island Railway temporarily suspended service in both directions in the southern region due to flooding. The Cross Bronx Expressway was closed in both directions because of flooding, highlighting the severity of road conditions.
Videos posted on local social media vividly showed water surging into a subway station in Manhattan as a result of the heavy rain.
Central Park in the heart of Manhattan was not spared from the downpour. That night, more than 50 mm of rain fell per hour, turning the park into a vast expanse of water. Air travel was also severely affected. According to the flight tracking site FlightAware, a total of 1,200 flights were canceled at New York area airports, including LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Meanwhile, earlier this month, a flood disaster in Texas caused significant loss of life. On July 4, in the upper reaches of the Guadalupe River, the water level rose by 8 to 9 meters in less than an hour after heavy rain began, sweeping away riverside homes and children's campsites.
Afterwards, authorities used helicopters, rescue boats, and drones to rescue stranded individuals and recover the bodies of victims.
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