State of Emergency Declared After NYC Flooding

What’s the story?

• Heavy rainfall in New York City and the surrounding area led Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency on Friday. 
• Flash flooding has shut down subway lines, created pooling on major roadways, and forced many to find refuge on the top floors of their buildings. New Yorkers are being urged to stay home and brace for the worst, especially those living in basements. 
• Waist-high flooding was reported in Central Park, while nearly half of a foot of rain has fallen in Brooklyn and 7 inches in Queens so far. Subway conductors are being rerouted with little warning as major hubs are entirely inoperable. One conductor said:

“I have no idea what’s happening. I don’t know where we’re going.”

What they’re saying

• The National Weather Service issued a “considerable” flash-flood warning for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. This warning level is reserved for extreme and rare rainfall events. The Bronx, Staten Island, and Jersey City, New Jersey, are also being warned. New Yorkers got flash flood warnings on their phones that read:

“This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”

• Hochul said on NBC:

“I am declaring a State of Emergency in New York City…in response to the significant, dangerous rainfall that is currently impacting the region and is expected to continue for the next 20 hours.”

• Basement apartments are common in the city but are unsafe in these events. The Basement Apartments Safe for Everyone campaign, a coalition of housing advocates and other groups, said in a statement:

“We hope that basement and cellar tenants will be able to stay safe this weekend, despite inaction from their government. We yet again call on...lawmakers to make basement and cellar legalization a priority this year.”

• Friday afternoon, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “approve any forthcoming requests for FEMA assistance from New York State as affected communities begin their recovery from these floods.”
• Zach Iscol, the commissioner of New York City’s Office of Emergency Management, said:

“Today is the wettest day we’ve had since Hurricane Ida swept this city.”

• Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection highlighted how the weather is changing faster than our infrastructure can withstand it. Aggarwala continued:

“This changing weather pattern is the result of climate change.”

Are you concerned about extreme weather caused by climate change?

-Jamie Epstein