Several subway stations were flooded and important access roads were blocked this Thursday (8) in New York, where the arrival of storm Elsa threatens to cause new flooding on Friday (9).
Last Sunday (4), the storm swept through Jamaica and inundated part of the Caribbean island. Also in the Caribbean, the cyclone killed three people, one on the island of Saint Lucia and two in the Dominican Republic.
With winds reaching 120 km / h, the tropical storm spread to the state of Florida, United States, and achieved hurricane status on Wednesday (7), but did not cause much damage in the southern state. The storm is now approaching New York, where its effects are already being felt.
Between 50 and 100mm of water fell in the city and region during Thursday afternoon’s sequence of thunderstorms, according to the NWS, the country’s weather service.
New York subway users have posted videos on Twitter in which it is possible to see some stations flooded. In one of them, people with above their waist water attempt to cross the station to reach the platform at Washington Heights station in the Bronx neighborhood. Some have tried to wrap themselves in plastic bags to avoid contact with dirty water.
The Bronx, crossed by metro lines 1 and A, has been one of the city’s worst-hit neighborhoods, recording several flood points in highways and metro stations. “Lines 1 and A recorded (…) a lot of flooding in the stations,” admitted Sarah Feinberg, acting head of the MTA, the New York public transport authority, at a conference. press Thursday evening.
The NWS has warned of possible further flooding until this Friday morning, with the expected arrival in the northeastern United States of heavy rains driven by Storm Elsa.