New York’s deadly storm has killed at least one person after a woman in her mid-30s was swept away in her house while trying to save her dog amid biblical flash flooding.
Search parties desperately helped stranded families throughout the night as the severe deluge caused tens of millions of dollars in damage – washing out people’s possessions, ruining local infrastructure, and turning the state into a ‘war zone.’
The storm’s epicenter, Hudson Valley, New York, received as much as eight inches of rainfall Sunday as multiple cities and counties declared a State of Emergency because of the intense rain.
Several bridges have collapsed and roads are impassable because of the deluge. Trooper Steven V. Nevel of the New York State Police said the search mission, going into the early hours of Monday, is ‘all hands on deck.’
In New York City, federal forecasters issued a rare red weather warning for boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. Basement-level tenants were asked to find higher ground for the night in preparation for flooding.
Storm King Highway/9W in Orange County, New York, has been battered by the storm- with a portion of the road having been washed away
A number of vehicles travel down the stream of rainwater after the deluge hit New York. Cars are seen hitting into one another because of the quick-moving water
Rescue teams have worked throughout the night. Flash flooding is seen on Red Mill Road, Cortlandt Manor, New York
Vehicles come to a standstill near a washed-out and flooded portion of the Palisades Parkway just beyond the traffic circle off the Bear Mountain Bridge
County Executive Steve Neuhaus declared a State of Emergency in Orange County, New York. The town of Cornwall, which is on the western shore of the Hudson River, also declared a State of Emergency on Sunday night
Goat Trail 202 by Bear Mountain Bridge in Hudson Valley is flooded
One woman was killed as floodwaters overwhelmed West Point, home to the US Military Academy, leading to roads turning into rivers and submerged residential areas.
Videos and photos showed flooded roads, including Thayer Road leading to the military base, as state officials say roads in Orange County, New York, were impassable.
‘The amount of water is extraordinary,’ Governor Kathy Hochul said.
Commuters are stranded because of the rain that has battered the east coast for much of Sunday. Amtrak train suspended service between New York City and Albany due to the weather conditions.
More than 1,500 flights from New York City, Boston and Philadelphia airports have been delayed because of Sunday’s weather.
Areas from North Carolina to the northeast are under watches and warnings as rain pours on the region, hitting the hardest in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the rest of New England.
Rescuers saved a trapped family and wheelchair-bound female from the flood waters in a park in Stony Point. The town’s marine unit was then deployed again and safely recovered the stranded victims
Some of the gushing water has been described as a ‘war zone’
State Senator James Skoufis confirmed that ‘vital infrastructure and homes were washed away,’ during the catastrophic weather event
Brave rescuers have worked throughout the night to help those who are stranded
Piermont Fire Department in Stony Point said their underwater rescue squads helped reach an adult male trapped in his home from rushing flood water
County Executive Steve Neuhaus declared a State of Emergency in Orange County, New York. The town of Cornwall, which is on the western shore of the Hudson River, also declared a State of Emergency on Sunday night.
Neuhaus said from the village of Highland Falls, near West Point, the severe weather front was the scene of ‘an absolute war zone.’
Predicting that repairs to fix the ‘massive’ water damage would take months, he added; ‘It’s a tough situation, lots of people are trying to fight their way in to help us.’
State Senator James Skoufis confirmed that ‘vital infrastructure and homes were washed away,’ during the catastrophic weather event.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day said six hikers had to be rescued from the surrounding, flooded location – as well as dozens of drivers – who got caught in the intense downpours.
Day said: ‘Orange County and Rockland county fire depts rescued 40 people from their cars at the long mountain circle at the top of the palisades parkway.’
The US Military Academy at West Point on the Hudson River has flooded, leaving cars stranded while homes in the residential area were submerged
Multiple people could be seen standing knee-deep in the water attempting to push the car to safety
The roads heading towards the historic military camp were flooded
Rosemary Willkomm, who lives in Cornwall-on-Hudson, said about the destruction of her home: ‘It took our fences down. We had 6 inches of water in our basement, all the way to our den. It undermined our whole property.’
Piermont Fire Department in Stony Point said that their underwater rescue squads helped reach an adult male trapped in his home from rushing flood water.
At the same time, the brave rescuers saved a trapped family and wheelchair-bound female from the flood waters in a park. The town’s marine unit was then deployed again and safely recovered the stranded victims.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that people in the affected area still have a tough 48 hours ahead of them.
West Point in New York – which was flooded – is the oldest of the five American service academies and educates cadets for commissioning into the US Army – and is home to around 4,200 students.
On Sunday, the small town became the epicenter of the flooding disaster with eight inches of rain falling in hours.
State Senator James Skoufis said a woman in her 30s died in the flooding, according to the New York Times, but details of what caused her death were not released.
New York State Police trooper Steven Nevel said search-and-rescue was an ‘all hands on deck’ effort and the Palisades Interstate Parkway was washed out.
The scene led to a string of social media posts from concerned locals. One resident posted a picture of Thayer Road, writing the stark warning: ‘Find high ground.’
Another clip from the West Point region showed a road outside the Grant housing area at the military center completely inundated with murky rainwater – with a car stuck in the middle.
Multiple people could be seen standing knee-deep in the water attempting to push the vehicle out of harm’s way amid the unrelenting deluge.
Roads were so deluged by the intense rainfall near the military base that the water flowed down the street like a river – sending trash cans and other small objects down the stream.
Stony Point, further down the Hudson from West Point, saw people evacuate their homes because of the torrential downpours. Roads and homes in the area were completely washed out.
Congressman Mike Lawler wrote: ‘Significant flooding in Stony Point — homes and cars — and many people evacuated. Thank you to all of our first responders on the scene. Everyone stay off the roads, as the flash flood warning is still in effect and roadways have been flooded and washed out.’
Up to 3.5 inches of rainfall is expected to fall per hour in the New York towns of Kiryas Joel, New City, Woodbury, West Point, and Cold Spring.
Stony Point, further down the Hudson from West Point, saw people evacuate their homes because of the torrential downpours
Cars in Stony Point were nearly completely submerged
Congressman Mike Lawler wrote: ‘Significant flooding in Stony Point — homes and cars — and many people evacuated. Thank you to all of our first responders on the scene. Everyone stay off the roads, as the flash flood warning is still in effect and roadways have been flooded and washed out’
The bad weather has also caused major disruption for trains in New York State.
Robert boarded the train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central at 2.50pm, but a journey that is meant to be two hours has turned into four.
Boulders are currently blocking the tracks in both directions caused by the torrential rain – meaning the train is stranded in the middle of its journey.
And staff have said they have no idea when they will be able to get back on track.
Robert said: ‘Some people are freaked out. For the most part people are keeping calm.’
Employees on the train were handing out water to begin with, but now they’ve run out and there is no food or power on board.
He said: ‘They don’t have a plan, they were going to get buses to come and reach us but the roads are flooded so they can’t make it.
‘It’s a f***ing s**tshow.’
Train staff briefly let the passengers off the train to stand on the side of the tracks in the drizzly conditions because there is no AC on board.
Robert said: ‘They’ve let us off the train on to the tracks for some air because it is so hot in there.’
Robert boarded the train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central at 2.50pm, but a journey that is meant to be two hours has turned into four
People – and puppies – have been left stranded after the train’s path was blocked by boulders
A slow-moving cold front will arrive Sunday evening with more severe thunderstorms and heavy rain stretching from the northeast to North Carolina that could last throughout the next few days, The National Weather Service said.
The weather is already impacting flights – with a total of 1,355 flights within in to or out of the US that have been canceled as of Sunday afternoon.
There have been 250 flights out of New York’s LaGuardia that were canceled, 150 flights out of John F. Kennedy and 190 flights out of Newark canceled, according to FlightAware.
In Boston, 115 flights have been canceled and 170 delayed, while Philadelphia has seen 107 cancelations and 161 delays.
It comes just two days after the East Coast was pummeled by storms, which produced mudslides in Vermont and flooding in Northern Virginia where several motorists had to be rescued after driving through flooded streets in Pentagon City.
Now, more severe weather is on the way and about 80 million people from Washington to Portland, Maine, may see a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours, Bloomberg reported citing forecasts.
Millions of people are under a Flood Watch as drenching rain is set to soak the East Coast from North Carolina to New England just as the work week begins. Pictured: The second round of storms produced mudslides in Vermont, which forced police to close at least one major road
Most major cities along Interstate 95 are under the Flood Watch, including Washington, Philadelphia and New York.
There are several other cites on the East Coast that could be majorly affected by the storms and could see significant flooding.
Some of these areas include Hatteras in North Carolina, Norfolk in Virginia, Binghamton in New York, as well as both Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut.
According to Bryan Ramsey, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Upton, New York, because the storm is moving so slowly, accumulations may pile up in harder-hit areas. He added rain may fall at rates of two inches per hour through early Monday in New York.
New Yorkers should be prepared flooding, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
‘Throughout the weekend, parts of the state will continue to be at risk for flooding from storms bringing heavy rain, especially in those areas already hard-hit by rains and flooding over the past couple of days.’
But the severe weather is expected all up and down the East Coast, much of which is still soaked from the last round of storms.
‘We are going to be looking at some very heavy rainfall, this will include the I-95 corridor,’ said Andrew Orrison, a forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center. ‘In general, the region up here has been wet, so we are looking at significant impacts.’
Water rescues were needed in Virginia after drivers ventured into high water in Pentagon City
In Northern Virginia last week, there were multiple water rescues after drivers ventured into high water floodwaters that had taken over the streets in Pentagon City.
At least three vehicles became stuck in high water along S. Joyce Street between Army Navy Drive and Columbia Pike, with multiple people stranded — including an elderly person with disabilities, either in their vehicles or on the median.
One report suggested that the water was so high that at least one of the vehicles was floating. Everyone was pulled from the waters and no injuries were reported.
And in Vermont, mudslides were reported in the central part of the state, which forced police to close at least one major roadway in Killington.
Nearly 20 feet of debris from a mudslide washed across U.S. Route 4 on Friday afternoon, the primary east-west road through the region, WCVB reported.
Killington selectboard member Jim Haff compared the flooding to Irene, the tropical storm that brought flooding to Vermont, Massachusetts and other parts of New England in 2011.
Nearly 20 feet of debris from a mudslide washed across U.S. Route 4 on Friday
It’s been reported that about 1 to 2 inches of rain will likely fall across the region through Tuesday. But the highest totals are expected in Northeast and New England.
Further north, New York’s Hudson Valley and Albany, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire could see 2-3 inches of rain. And some areas could see rain totals of between 3 and 5 inches.
Meanwhile, states in the south including Florida and Texas, continue to sizzle in the heat with highs in the mid-90s which is close to record-tying/breaking high temperatures for the Florida Peninsula.
In South Florida, these hot temperatures combined with high humidity will lead to heat indices in the 105-110 degree range, the NWS said.
