Police rescued six people from a Queens highway Tuesday night as thunderstorms across the Tri-State area caused flash flooding on vulnerable local roads and low-lying places, officials say.
According to the city’s Emergency Management agency, the six people were rescued on the Cross Island Parkway sometime before 11 p.m.. The agency issued a citywide travel advisory on Wednesday.
Pictures and videos posted to social media on Tuesday evening showed severe flooding on the Cross Island Parkway, the Major Deegan Expressway, the Henry Hudson Parkway, and the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Ariela Dela Cruz, a spokesperson for NYC Emergency Management, told Gothamist Tuesday night that first responders had rescued a handful of other car passengers on the Henry Hudson Parkway, which runs from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to Westchester County, and the Major Deegan Expressway from Van Cortlandt Park to West 230th Street in the Bronx. She said the city’s 311 system had received more than 130 calls about abandoned vehicles and roughly 70 calls about sewer backups.
In Hackensack, New Jersey, the fire department said on Tuesday night that “nearly half the city” was flooded, and urged people to avoid the area. They also reported multiple rescues had to be made, as a rescue truck rolled through the flooded streets looking for residents in distress. “If you’re out on the road find a diner somewhere to eat or a dry spot and just wait till the water recedes,” the department said in a post on X.
According to the National Weather Service, the Fordham area in the Bronx had one of the highest rainfall totals in all five boroughs, reporting more than 5 inches of rain by 11:30 p.m.. City Island and parts of Nassau County recorded more than 4 inches.
LaGuardia Airport in Queens got just under 2 inches of rainfall, along with Central Park. Meanwhile, Bogota, New Jersey, which is located near Hackensack in Bergen County, recorded nearly 5.5 inches of rain.
The NYPD reported there were no injuries or deaths related to the storms as of Wednesday. The FDNY said it had responded to numerous calls overnight from people needing assistance due to water leaks, but also reported no injuries or deaths.
