PublishedJuly 9, 2021, 05:47
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United StatesFloods in New York, which awaits the storm “Elsa”
Several subway stations were flooded and major arteries cut Thursday in New York, where new flooding threatened Friday with the expected arrival of the storm “Elsa”.
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In the Chelsea neighborhood on July 8, 2021.
–AFP
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Between 5 and 10 cm of water fell during a series of thunderstorms in New York and its region on Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, “causing considerable flash flooding in some places”.
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Subway riders posted video footage of some flooded stations on Twitter, particularly impressive at the 157th Street station in northern Manhattan. We see people with water up to their waists, somehow crossing a blackish pool to reach the docks.
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“Lines 1 and A have really taken a hit, with a lot of flooding in the stations,” acknowledged Thursday evening Sarah Feinberg, boss of the MTA, New York’s public transport authority, during a press briefing.
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Some major roads, especially in the Bronx, have been temporarily closed, disrupting traffic when leaving offices. New York police have tweeted images where they are seen rescuing motorists stuck in the water.
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The NWS warned of possible further flooding by Friday morning, with the expected arrival on the northeast of heavy rains brought by the storm Elsafrom Florida.
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Calls to invest
Despite work undertaken to fortify the city in the face of flooding since the hurricane Sandy October 2012 – which caused 44 deaths and paralyzed the American economic capital for days – New York, a city surrounded by water, remains very vulnerable to flooding, the frequency of which is set to increase with climate change.
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Several officials, including Eric Adams, president of Brooklyn and big favorite for the November municipal election since winning the Democratic primary this week, called Thursday evening for urgent investment to strengthen infrastructure.
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“Extreme weather events like this are not going to go away,” warned one of her primary opponents, Kathryn Garcia, who oversaw the pumping of water after Sandy. “We must invest in strategies to protect the city”.
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(AFP)
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