State of Emergency Declared In New York State Due to Significant Rainfall and Flooding

by CrownHeights.info

A State of Emergency has been declared in New York State as the southern counties find themselves under a deluge of rainfall with significant flooding.

“I am declaring a State of Emergency in New York City, the Hudson Valley and Long Island in response to the significant, dangerous rainfall that is currently impacting the region and is expected to continue for the next 20 hours,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote. “Ahead of this storm we deployed thousands of State personnel and I have directed all State agencies to provide all necessary resources to address this extreme weather event. It is critical that all New Yorkers take all necessary precautions and avoid flooded roads, which are some of the most dangerous places during flash floods.”

Flooding in New York City became extreme rather quickly Friday morning after the consistent rainfall overloaded the city’s drainage system, leaving roadways and highways under inches of water. The BQE, FDR, and Prospect Expressway were some of the first roadways to flood, shutting major arteries and stranding vehicles under feet of water.

For the low-lying areas of the city, the flooring was particularly disastrous leaving basements flooded and even flooding moving vehicles.

While the emergency continues, relief is still a while away. Forecasts show that the rain is expected to continue through Shabbos morning, and inches of more rain is still expected.