Approximately 8.5 million people in the New York City area are under flash flood warnings, says the National Weather Service (NWS). Flooding is worsened by the city's concrete and roads, causing overwhelmed sewers to struggle with rainwater drainage. Similar weather advisories apply to parts of New Jersey.
Due to "extreme rainfall," New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday.?
This declaration applies to New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley, as announced by Hochul on X (formerly Twitter).
In some areas of New York City, there has been rainfall ranging from one to five inches since early Friday, according to the NWS. They still expect one to two inches of rain per hour in parts of Brooklyn and Queens.?
Due to heavy flooding, the MTA has announced additional borough disruptions.
The MTA has limited the six-train service in the Bronx and Manhattan because of flooding at different stations.
Despite the heavy rainfall and citywide flooding, Mayor Eric Adams and Education Chancellor David Banks defended their decision to keep schools open.
“Our kids need to be in school. This is where they also get their healthy meals. This is what allows parents to continue to get to work and do the other things that need to happen. Whenever we decide to close schools, it is a major disruption, and so it is only used as a last resort,” said Banks.
Adams defended the decision, saying, "I believe the chancellor made the right call. He would have made that call if there were a need to close the schools, but this was the right call for our children.”
“When you close the school, parents disrupt their normal workflow, and we disrupt a child’s education flow simultaneously. This is the right decision to make, as we see we are continuously moving forward, and our children are safe at school,” he added.
This is a developing story; more details will be added soon.
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