Eyewitness News
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The heavy rain that fell across swaths of New Jersey and New York Wednesday has tapered off, but the wet weather is having an impact on the Thursday morning commute.
Rainfall totals of five and a half inches were reported at LaGuardia Airport and five inches in Central Park, as flood warnings and advisories remain in effect throughout the Tri-State area.
Rail commuters were being affected by a mudslide on Warburton Avenue in Yonkers that sent a portion of a retaining wall sliding down an embankment onto the Metro-North tracks, closing three of the four tracks.
The collapse happened near a swimming pool between two apartment buildings.
Up to 30 minute delays were expected on the Hudson Line that goes through Yonkers.
In the Lindenwood section of Howard Beach, Queens, dozens of basements were flooded due to a combination of the heavy rains and sewer problems. Some first-floor apartments also flooded as residents pumped out their homes.
Residents believe sludge and debris left behind by Superstorm Sandy may still be clogging local drains.
On Long Island, Sunrise Highway was closed in both directions for over three hours overnight, because of flooding under the Great Neck Road Bridge in Copiague.
Forecasters say major flooding is possible along the Millstone River in Hillsborough and the Raritan River in Bound Brook. Both are well above flood stage.
New Jersey Transit is cross-honoring bus and rail tickets systemwide Thursday. Montclair-Boonton Line service is suspended between Montclair State University and Denville due to track damage caused by the weather.
Residents in low areas around Yonkers collected sandbags, worried that the Saw Mill River might spill over its banks.
In Millburn New Jersey, police said John F. Kennedy Parkway northbound is shut down from the mall at Route 24 to South Orange Avenue.
Water started backing up early on the roads in Northern New Jersey.
Robbs Barbota was stranded when his car got stuck in the water Wednesday evening. "Black smoke was coming from the tail pipe," Barbota said. Barbota said he thought, "I'm too young to die. Please someone help me."
He was in the car with his parents trying to get home.
Enoch Santos was driving just two blocks from his home when the water got very deep. He drove through anyway and ended up stuck. " I said, 'let me give it a try & me and my mom just wanted to get home."
Water rose all over Newark Wednesday night, too. Earl Person waded through the flood on foot to get home from work. "It is horrific ... up to my cell phone," he said.
The widespread flooding was the latest wallop from a violent storm system that began in Arkansas and Oklahoma and worked its way South, killing 37 people along the way, including a 67-year-old driver in Florida.
Pensacola Police Chief Chip Simmons said two vehicles fell 25 feet when portions of a highway that runs through residential neighborhoods along the city's bay front collapsed. The truck driver was fine, but a woman in a car needed help getting out. Neither had serious injuries, Simmons said.
In Gulf Shores, Ala., where nearly 21 inches of rain fell in a day's time, the scene resembled the aftermath of a hurricane. At the Sportsman Marina in Orange Beach, employee J.J. Andrews couldn't believe what she saw out the window.
"We've got water up in our parking lots," she said. "Our docks are under water. It's worse than during Hurricane Ivan, is what they're saying. It's crazy."
Emergency officials in Maryland said crews rescued motorists who were stranded in high water.
Over the past four days, the system created 65 tornadoes and slammed Arkansas' northern Little Rock suburbs and the Mississippi cities of Louisville and Tupelo. Arkansas had 15 deaths; Mississippi had 12.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete