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In New York, the images of delivery men working during the floods are controversial

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UNITED STATES – At least 41 people died in New York and its surrounding areas overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, after torrential rains and historic flash floods linked to Storm Ida, which first hit Louisiana in the United States – United at the start of the week.

In addition to the significant human and material toll, a controversy arose after the publication of videos on social networks where we can see drivers and delivery people continuing to work during these extreme floods.

A video, which now has more than seven million views, notably shows a person presented as a delivery man working for the GrubHub company, trying to progress on a Brooklyn street with his bicycle and a bag of food in his hand in almost 80 cm of water.

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“And despite all that, the GrubHub delivery guy is still there to bring your dinner”

Many Internet users reacted by saying that these images highlighted the precarious working conditions of drivers employed by delivery companies.

“Seeing this man pushing his bike past these people in Mercedes to deliver Chinese food just made my stomach turn,” said the author of the video, interviewed by the New York Times. “Some of us have the privilege of not working during a disaster and some of us don’t,” he added, as a dozen news agencies contacted him to buy his video to to broadcast it. He now intends to pay back the 1700 dollars he acquired in this way to the filmed delivery man, if he manages to find him.

New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed those who ordered delivery during the storm: “Please don’t be the person ordering delivery during a flash flood that the NWS (National Weather Service, NDLR) considered a dangerous and life-threatening situation. This puts vulnerable people at risk. If it’s too dangerous for you, it’s too dangerous for them. Go through your cupboards or ask a neighbor for help.”

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New York City Council member Carlina Rivera wrote: “If it’s too dangerous for you, it’s too dangerous for them. Protect our delivery people, do not order takeout tonight.”

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Amazon couriers sent home

A GrubHub spokesperson told Business Insider that he was unable to confirm that the deliverer of the viral video was indeed one of their employees. “The safety of delivery people is a top priority,” he also said. “While we always appreciate the hard work of delivery people to get the job done, no delivery person for a business or restaurant should ever take any action that puts their safety at risk.”

Other footage of bogged down delivery people has gone viral on social media, like this video on TikTok showing a person portrayed as an UberEats delivery person walking through knee-deep water with an order in hand in New Jersey.

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Another TikTok user shared a photo of an Amazon truck continuing to make deliveries in a flooded New Jersey neighborhood.

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Contacted by the site Gizmodo.com, Jonathan Bailey, an Amazon warehouse worker in New York and co-founder of Amazonians United – a network of workers fighting for better wages and working conditions – said it had not been a shock for him that Amazon workers are forced to perform their shift despite the weather conditions. In the past, employees of the consumer giant have been forced to work in over 32 degrees in a warehouse in Washington state, recalls Gizmodo.

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“New York residents have been receiving these emergency alerts since 7:30 p.m. The situation is ‘life-threatening’ and we are told not to travel unless we flee or receive an evacuation order. And what does Amazon do? Forcing us to report to work for our 10 p.m. shift.”

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“Now, after risking our lives to get here, they have no work for us because, surprise, the roads have been flooded, the bridges and tunnels closed, and the trucks have not been able to enter. So now they’re asking us to come home without being paid for a full shift.”

Uber didn’t stop

Amazon ended up asserting with Business Insider that its employees in flood-affected areas had effectively been sent home. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have closed several Amazon facilities and delivery stations along Hurricane Ida’s path,” a spokesperson said. “We will only resume operations at these sites when it is safe to do so.”

In addition, other companies working with couriers have provided details to Business Insider after heavy flooding.

DoorDash said it has a policy that food orders may be suspended due to weather conditions, while delivery options were disabled for parts of New York City as of Wednesday evening.

On his side, UPS said its drivers and customers are being actively alerted to weather situations that would require the company to temporarily suspend deliveries.

Note that during the torrential rains, transport services such as Uber or Lyft did not stop in New York, as journalist James West reported on Twitter.

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“I just landed in New York City after a trip overseas and this is the scene from my Uber exiting JFK Airport.”

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“After more than two epic hours, Joaquin, hero, pop music lover and seasoned New Yorker, drove me home. Grateful forever.”

See also on Le HuffPost: Severe flooding in New York where a state of emergency has been declared

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