At least two people have died and widespread disruption has been reported after torrential rains triggered flash floods across parts of New Jersey and New York City. The intense weather event, one of the most severe to hit the region in recent years, submerged subway stations, roads, and vehicles.
The fatalities occurred in Plainfield, New Jersey, where a vehicle carrying two individuals was swept away by rising floodwaters late Monday night. Governor Phil Murphy confirmed during a press briefing on Tuesday that their bodies were later recovered from the submerged car. A state of emergency has been declared in response to the severe conditions.
The storm, which began pounding the area late Monday and intensified into Tuesday morning, unleashed an extraordinary volume of rainfall, completely overwhelming an already fragile drainage infrastructure. In Manhattan’s Central Park, more than two inches of rain fell in the span of a single hour—the second-highest on record—according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“I probably don’t recall seeing that level of rain before,” the mayor stated, acknowledging the exceptional scale of the downpour.
Video footage widely circulated on social media showed torrents of water cascading into subway stations. One particularly dramatic scene on Manhattan’s West Side captured a geyser of water bursting through a stairwell and onto the platform below.
The city’s transportation system struggled to cope under the weight of the storm. Rohit Aggarwala, Commissioner for Environmental Protection, explained that New York’s century-old sewer infrastructure is designed to handle no more than 1.75 inches of rain per hour. The storm, however, brought over four inches per hour at its peak, far exceeding that capacity.
Commuters faced widespread delays and cancellations as floodwaters inundated roads, tunnels, and airports. Emergency responders remained deployed throughout the night, assisting with water rescues and evacuations across affected neighborhoods.
In Westchester County, north of New York City, first responders carried out several high-risk rescues after motorists were trapped in rapidly rising waters. Rockland County’s Nanuet suburb recorded over five inches of rain, while parts of New Jersey reportedly received up to six inches in less than two and a half hours.
Governor Murphy attributed the increasing frequency and severity of such events to climate change. “That’s the new reality,” he remarked. “We’re now seeing floods in areas that never experienced this kind of water before.”
The National Weather Service has issued further flood warnings for parts of the northeast, cautioning residents to remain vigilant as rainfall is expected to continue intermittently through Wednesday.
