USA – Rain From Storm Elsa Floods New York Subway

by in News, USA

Heavy rain and strong winds caused damage in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in the USA as Tropical Storm Elsa made its way up the Northeast coast.

Floods in New York After rain Storm Elsa, July 2021. Photo: NYPD

Wind damage was reported in parts of New Jersey, while the most dramatic flooding occurred in parts of New York City and suburbs.

NYPD said several people had to be rescued from vehicles trapped in flood waters along the Major Deegan Expressway. Several subway stations were flooded with water as deep as 3 feet (1 metre). Images shared on Social Media showed commuters wading through flood water. Some train services were interrupted.

Flooding of subway stations in New York has occurred several times in recent years, including during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and after heavy rain in 2014 and again in 2018. This is not a situation unique to New York and authorities in major cities around the world face a difficult task of flood-proofing transport systems.

Storm Elsa in the Caribbean and Florida

Two people died in Dominican Republic and one in St Lucia as Hurricane Elsa made its way across the Caribbean last week.

Wind damage and some minor flooding was reported in Haiti, Grenada, Dominica, Jamaica and Barbados, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). Thousands of people were pre-emptively evacuated in Cuba.

Elsa then made landfall in Florida as a tropical storm, causing some flooding and severe wind damage. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue reported that a tree fell on two cars, killing one person on 08 July.

In Georgia, 10 people were injured after a suspected tornado touched down at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. Storm damage left about 35,000 people without power in Georgia and South Carolina early 09 July.

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