Key points
- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency
- Urge people to stay indoors
- Some subway service was suspended in New York City
NEW YORK, United States: Heavy rain inundated parts of New York and New Jersey on Monday night, while flash flood warnings were in effect across a wide swathe of the eastern seaboard, where travel was massively disrupted and some vehicles trapped.
AFP reported that New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency, urging people to stay indoors.
I am declaring a State of Emergency given flash flooding and high levels of rainfall in parts of the state.
Please stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel. Stay safe, New Jersey.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) July 14, 2025
Authorities across the region, including in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, warned of hazardous driving conditions due to the risk of flash floods.
Cancellation of flights
JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports temporarily suspended departures on Monday night, forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights, AFP reported.
AP cited the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as saying in New York City, some subway service was suspended while other lines were running with severe delays due to flooding.
New York’s emergency services agency stated that parts of the city and mid-Hudson were getting hit with flash floods.
AFP reported that rescue workers in Scotch Plains, New Jersey waded into gushing floodwaters armed with red flotation devices after several drivers became stranded in the sudden surge.
In New York City, video shared on social media showed muddy brown water spewing like a geyser in front of a subway station’s turnstiles.
Briefly suspended
Multiple subway lines were briefly suspended or running with delays, while above ground, massive traffic jams paralysed several of the city’s main streets.
The National Weather Service (NWS) urged drivers encountering flooded roads to “turn around.”
“The greatest concentration of storms will be across the southern Mid-Atlantic/Appalachians on Tuesday and shift northward with the boundary into the central Mid-Atlantic/Appalachians on Wednesday,” AFP cited the government forecaster as saying.
More than two inches of rain drenched several urban areas in less than two hours. New York’s Staten Island recorded between 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain on Monday night, according to the city’s emergency notification system.
AFP cited Zohran Mamdani, the Democrat running for mayor of New York City, as saying that the rapid flooding emphasised the need for climate-proofing the city.
“We must upgrade our infrastructure for this new climate reality,” he said.
