Heavy storms lashed the New York area overnight, submerging cars and leaving subway stations underwater. Two people died in flash floods in the neighboring state of New Jersey, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The heavy rains severely disrupted air, road and rail traffic.
More than 2 inches of rain fell in an hour in Manhattan's Central Park, the second-heaviest rainfall in a 60-minute period on record, New York Mayor Eric Adams said. He said he had probably seen such heavy rain for the first time in his life.
Videos showed flooded subway stations. Officials said the subway pumping system in the most populous city in the United States simply couldn't handle that much rain in such a short period of time.
New York City's aging sewer system can handle about 1.75 inches (4.44 cm) of rain per hour, a local official said. By comparison, at the height of the storm, the Big Apple received more than 4 inches of rain in an hour.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in the state. Two people died in Plainfield after their car was swept away by rising waters, he said.
Murphy said some areas received 6 inches of rain in less than two and a half hours, noting that some of those areas were experiencing flooding for the first time.
The Democratic governor attributed the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events to climate change. "This is the new reality," he concluded.