by Federal forecasters issued a rare flash flood warning for much of New York City Sunday night as heavy rains in the Northeast caused at least one death.
The warning applied to the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. In social media bulletins posted in multiple languages, the New York City Emergency Department warned basement dwellers to seek higher ground,
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for Orange County, 60 miles north of New York City, where a woman in her 30s was swept away by rushing water as she searched for higher ground with her dog, said county executive Steven Neuhaus.
The identity of the woman was not available.
Neuhaus said the hardest-hit communities include the town of Highland Falls, where the woman died, Fort Montgomery and West Point. First responders have received numerous reports of property damage and people trapped in vehicles, he said.
The Cornish city, on the west bank of the Hudson River, declared a state of emergency, saying in a statement that travel will be restricted to emergency vehicles.
Hochul’s office said in a statement that 13,000 utility customers in the state were without power. Many were in the Hudson Valley, which includes Orange County.
Fort Montgomery resident Kristen Dyroff O’Dell said she was out of town, isolated from her husband and three young children and with no way to get inside. She said the National Guard was needed to restore access.
“Our city is completely cut off from the rest of the world right now due to landslides, sinkholes, washed out roads, flooding, collapsing brick walls and more,” he said. “I am currently separated from my children in Monroe at a friend’s house after spending five hours trying various ways to get to Fort Montgomery. All routes were impassable.”
Elsewhere, water rescues were carried out amid floodwaters in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, according to drone-based video of the area. Flooding was also reported in Reading, Pennsylvania.
While the National Weather Service office that covers Washington, DC and Baltimore said the storm had nearly cleared their area Sunday night, the office that covers the Philadelphia region warned of possible hail and waterspouts along the New Jersey shore.
Air travelers in the Northeast are likely to experience delays. LaGuardia Airport in New York said the weather has caused flight disruptions. Boston Logan International Airport listed multiple flight delays and cancellations.
Airport officials advised travelers to contact their airlines to determine the status of flights.
Amtrak said late Sunday that train service between New York City and Albany, New York, had been suspended because of the weather.
The weather service said in a discussion of the forecast that the heavy rains were coming from a relatively strong summer cold front colliding with an unusual column of tropical moisture.
He said the threat of flooding in Pennsylvania and New York on Sunday night would extend to New England on Monday.
Courtney Brogle, Michelle Acevedo, Elizabeth Malina and Colin Sheeley contributed.
