‘Move now': vechicles trapped on highway as flash flooding hits New York and state of emergency declared

News.com.au

4 days ago

Trapped drivers had to be rescued from submerged vehicles on a flooded US highway as heavy rain and flash flooding hits New York, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency.
Heavy thunderstorms rolled into the New York City-area on Thursday afternoon (US time), with forecasts predicting widespread flooding and as much as five inches of rain in parts of the region.
Emergency services raced to the Clearview Expressway, near Northern Boulevard in Queens, at about 2.45pm on Thursday (US time) after reports of occupants trapped inside submerged vehicles, authorities said.
Those inside the stalled cars made it out safely, the New York City Fire Department said.
The New York City Police Department confirmed three people were rescued.
The Clearview was subsequently closed in both directions at Northern Boulevard, according to the New Yok Police Department.
Video obtained by the New York Post showed a pick-up truck hauling a small vehicle attempting to fjord the murky waters that appeared to be over three feet deep in certain spots.
The water rose as high as the middle of the seat of one sedan which sat on the highway with all four doors open, according to the video.
Two vehicles were seen almost completely submerged, one SUV was stranded under the overpass with its trunk open, and an 18-wheeler with water up to its cab doors were all afflicted by the flooding rain, according to the video.
A group of firefighters, three equipped with flotation devices, can be seen on the side of the expressway, video showed.
Photos circulating on social media, captured from a Clearview Expressway traffic cam, also show at least two cars nearly fully submerged in waters that rise to the door of an 18-wheel truck that appears to be stalled out.
Elsewhere in Queens, 110 people were rescued from a halted train in Bayside amid flooding.
Those on-board were on the train for about an hour before the were rescued, ABC7 reported.
Storms have caused 1,439 cancellations and 7,039 delays nationwide, according to the publication.
' Move now': State of emergency declared
New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency in the city due to heavy rain and flash flooding. The order will remain in effect through to 8am Friday morning (US time).
'Stay where you are if you can,' he wrote it a post on X.
'Don't drive. Roadways are flooding, and crews are responding. If you live in a basement apartment, and haven't yet moved to higher ground, move now.'
New York Governor Kathy Hochul also issued a state of emergency for the city and surrounding counties, including the Bronx, Delaware, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester and contiguous counties.
'I just left the Bronx, it's getting hammered with rain. Manhattan is next and we're anticipating severe weather,' Ms Hochul said in a video posted on X.
'Be alert. Watch the conditions around you.'