The tail of the storm “Ida” has reached New York and brought a lot of rain with it. Streets turned into rivers, people got stuck in the subway.
the essentials in brief
- Storm “Ida” has arrived in New York with a lot of rain.
- Within an hour, up to 80 millimeters of water fell from the sky.
- New York experiences both a hot and sunny summer and a rainy one.
Foothills of hurricane “Ida” have brought the heaviest rain since records began in the metropolis of New York. Around 80 millimeters of rain fell in Central Park in Manhattan in just one hour, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm shattered the previous record set by tropical storm “Henri” just a week ago with 49 millimeters. Overall, the summer of 2021 in New York is very hot and sunny, as well as the rainiest in history.
Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency on Twitter on Wednesday evening. “We are witnessing a historic weather event,” he writes. There is record rain, “brutal flooding” and dangerous road conditions.
People should seek shelter in houses and not go out into the streets to allow the rescue workers to work. “Stay off the subway, stay off the streets, don’t drive into these severe floods,” de Blasio continued. About 5300 customer households are without electricity.
The authorities in New York and its environs had previously warned of severe storms, life-threatening floods and even tornadoes.
Streets become rivers
A short time later, so much rain fell over the city that streets turned into rivers and people stood knee-deep in water. Almost all subway lines had to stop service in the meantime – many people were stuck in the wagons.
A video by Unicef spokesman Joe English showed Queens Boulevard in the district of the same name, which was so flooded that passengers in a bus had to climb onto the seats: “Queens Boulevard in Maspeth/Corona is a literal river at the moment. Bus fully flooded, several cars stuck in the water. Absolutely insane,” English wrote on Twitter.
Water also entered a subway station with the force of a flash tide, as pictures showed. Because of the rain, games of the current US Open had to be postponed.
More on the subject:
–
