Flash flooding causes mayhem on NYC streets and subways
By Jesse O’Neill
New York Post
The New York subway stations were submerged in water on Wednesday night, as flash flooding turned platforms and stairwells into waterfalls as the century-old system ground to a halt.
The remains of Hurricane Ida left a path of destruction in New Jersey, tearing homes to pieces. The storm swept through NYC, flooding apartments and turning streets into rivers from Park Slope to the Cross Bronx Expressway.
At least a half dozen subway trains stuck between stations were evacuated, according to the MTA, which said service remained “very limited” Thursday morning due to historic rainfall which dumped as many as six inches of rain on the city in a matter of hours.
At least four people were killed in Brooklyn and Queens after being trapped in basements when the floodwater surged, according to law enforcement sources.
At the 28th Street station in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, geyser-like volumes of rainwater were seen gushing from below in shocking images tweeted by @SubwayCreatures. Rapids from the onslaught of rain overran the platform and spewed onto the tracks, footage showed.
Further uptown on the 1 line, rainwater could be seen cascading down the steps of the abandoned 145th Street station and flooding the platform and ticketing area with many inches of water, according to footage tweeted by NTD News.
Democratic City Council hopeful Shaun Abreu said it was the second time the station was “incapacitated” by rainwater in recent days.
“Why is this happening?,” the candidate tweeted. “Because trash is allowed to build up in and around the station, blocking drainage. Because we have neglected our infrastructure for decades and it has reached its limit. Because climate change is creating conditions that our city was not built to withstand.”
Another user compared the scene at the Jefferson Avenue L station to a car wash, as hundreds of gallons of water breached the station and drenched a passing train.
“This flooding has to be doing an incredible amount of damage to the NYC subway system,” Mike Saccone wrote.
It wasn’t any safer for commuters above ground. A Twitter user aboard a bus on Queens Boulevard shared footage of what looked like a raging river outside the driver’s windshield, adding the bus was fully flooded and multiple cars were stuck in the water.
“Hero bus driver managed to get us safely through the 3-4 feet of rain coursing down the boulevard, but only seemed to be getting worse,” Joe English tweeted.
“Finally made it through to higher ground and a fellow passenger exclaims ‘oh no I missed my stop..’”
The MTA did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
A flash flood warning was in effect for all the boroughs served by the subway through the end of the night as the remnants of Hurricane Ida barged through the city.
The deluge came just over a week after Hurricane Henri caused flooding in many subway stations and city streets.
