Severe Storms in New Jersey/New York!
New York, Jul 14 (EFE).-
The severe storms that have been hitting parts of the northeastern United States since Monday caused flooding in multiple states, including New York and New Jersey, leaving thousands without power.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency hours earlier due to the flooding, and the National Weather Service had issued flood warnings for towns such as Newark, Elizabeth, and East Orange.
A video posted on social media shows several vehicles trapped in the water in the neighborhoods of Watchung and North Plainfield, both in Somerset County.
The storm also caused more than 8,000 people in the state to lose power at one point, and as of 10pm local time (2:00 a.m. GMT Tuesday), more than 5,000 residents were still without electricity, according to the Power Outage website.
In addition, Newark Airport has halted flight arrivals and departures until 11pm local time due to the storms.
Across the Hudson River in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul said that “several rescues” of people have been made in Westchester and Rockland counties, although she did not elaborate on possible fatalities.
The weather service had also issued a flash flood warning for all five boroughs of the Big Apple, where multiple subway lines are operating with severe delays due to the rainfall.
In videos posted by social media users, a group of people try to climb the flooded stairs of a New York City subway station, and in other images, rainwater begins to flood another station in the city.
In its X profile, the New York City Emergency Management Agency recommended that residents living in basements or on the ground floor of buildings move to higher ground, as flooding can be deadly and “these spaces can fill with water in minutes.”
The weather service reported just after 10pm local time that the heaviest rains had moved eastward and weakened, and urged residents of New York and New Jersey to heed road closures, as “residual” flooding remained in several areas.
In Pennsylvania, where flooding also occurred, authorities rescued 16 people trapped in the water and responded to more than 30 calls for help from people living in basements, according to The New York Times, but no fatalities have been reported.
The storm now hitting the northeast comes just a week after flash floods left at least 120 dead and nearly 170 missing in Texas. EFE
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