Heavy rain in New York subway causes waterfalls and flooding
'19.07.2022'
Nadezhda Verbitskaya
When it rains, it pours in New York even underground. Heavy downpours hit the city on July 18, turning metro stations into city waterfalls. Rain caused passengers headaches as trains were delayed due to flooding, reports New York Post.
Train traffic was suspended at three stations in upper Manhattan due to the massive amount of water that flooded the Deikman Street station.
The video shows rainwater pouring from the ceiling of a Washington Heights station onto a subway platform and rails below.
Good to see the NYC subway holding up through a rain storm #subwaycreatures pic.twitter.com/SsfB2CrMJF
- Rick (@SubwayCreatures) July 18, 2022
According to the MTA, the rain flooded the roadbed and damaged the third rail that powers the subway trains.
MTA crews were pumping water from the tracks and assessing damage late Monday evening. Trains A, B and C were slowed down in both directions as crews worked. The MTA said heavy rains caused separate delays in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
However, the Brooklyn station also flooded with water due to the downpour. A column of water gushed over the edge of a train platform at Jefferson Street L Station.
The northern metro system was also affected by flash flooding. Traffic on the Harlem and New Haven lines was suspended for several hours due to track flooding. But the service was restored by 17:00. However, the metro worked with delays of up to 75 minutes.
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Above ground, some of the streets of Washington Heights resembled rivers, including Nagle Avenue, where the water reached the tops of car tires.
The flooding also forced northbound lane closures on the main Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. And this led to a stoppage of traffic for many kilometers.
The US Weather Service released a severe thunderstorm forecast for New York on Monday.
Some areas of New Jersey also flooded with heavy rains. Including Fair Lawn, where the car was stuck in deep water that had accumulated under the overpass.
Flooding on Broadway in Fair Lawn New Jersey.#Fairlawn #Flooding #Storm pic.twitter.com/hgqZoNt5o1
— Boyd A Loving (@boydaloving) July 18, 2022
Bad weather also hindered air travel. According to FlightAware, as of the evening of July 18, the average delay at LaGuardia Airport exceeded two hours.