New York City in state of emergency as torrential rain floods subways, roads and basements

Torrential rain caused flooding that forced rescues, closed roads, disrupted subway service and overwhelmed basements in the New York City area as “dangerous and life-threatening” rainfall surged across the concrete expanse on Friday.

A month’s worth of rain – more than 4 inches – fell over parts of Brooklyn in just three hours. Intense rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were falling across the region, and the National Weather Service warned totals exceeding 8 inches “are increasingly likely” in parts of the tri-state area.

A widespread 2 to 5 inches had already fallen across the the New York City area since midnight, with much more to come, despite periodic breaks in the heaviest rain.

“This is a dangerous weather condition and it is not over,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a Friday morning news briefing. “I don’t want those gaps in heavy rain to give the appearance that it is over, it is not.”