NEW YORK, NY – Torrential rains led to flash flooding in New York City, a situation Governor Kathy Hochul described as the “new normal” in the era of climate change. The city is in recovery mode following one of its most waterlogged days on record.
Close to eight inches of rain inundated parts of the city, even allowing a sea lion at Central Park Zoo to momentarily escape her pool. By Saturday midday, immediate flood risks had diminished, but Brooklyn’s municipal hospital announced evacuations due to a power outage.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull transitioned to backup power following Friday’s outage but will be without electricity for days during repairs. The hospital began relocating its 120 patients to different facilities, an operation estimated to last eight hours.
The downpour transformed city streets into waterways, immobilizing cars and buses. It also led to the temporary closure of subway and commuter rail lines. Travel was further disrupted with flight delays and cancellations, including the evacuation of a terminal at LaGuardia Airport.
Governor Hochul announced that a state of emergency would persist for six more days, expediting the allocation of resources for recovery. No deaths have been reported due to the flooding.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on standby to offer assistance if necessary, stated the White House.