Heavy Rains, Floods Sweep Northeastern US, Kill At Least One – 10/07/2023 21:19
A damaged road after heavy rains and floods in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, on July 10, 2023 (AFP/Kena Betancur)
At least one person has been killed in severe flooding caused by torrential rains that continued to pour across the northeastern United States on Monday, authorities said.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Vermont have been hit by flash flood warnings issued Monday by the US Weather Service (NWS), which warns that these floods can be “deadly.”
A state of emergency was declared in Vermont and several counties in New York, including Orange, where authorities declared a state of emergency and confirmed that bad weather caused the injury of a 35-year-old female victim.
A street closed to traffic after heavy rain and flooding in Highland Falls, New York, on July 10, 2023 (AFP/Kena Betancur)
“She walked out, it looked like her house was taking a lot of water. She was with her dog and her fiancé literally watched,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. The village of Highland Falls, one of the hardest hit areas, is an hour and a half drive north of New York.
– ‘Climate change’ –
The Democratic governor called on the population to “mobilize to confront the scourge of climate change, as these are unprecedented phenomena that have been striking us again and again.”
A flooded road in Rockland County, New York on July 9, 2023 (New York State Police / -)
“The eye of the storm appears to be moving eastward, unfortunately for the people of Vermont,” the governor added, a state bordering Canada where “flash flooding already occurs” according to the meteorological services.
State police warned of “dangerous and life-threatening flooding” in a tweet accompanied by a video of a dam submerged by a river in Koichi locality. About 20 roads have been closed, according to state police.
In New York state, torrential rains turned streets into torrents, washed away sections of roads and bridges, and stranded people in their cars.
Governor Cathy Hochul said rainfall of about 200mm in some places had caused “potentially life-threatening flooding conditions”.
More than 12,000 consumers were without electricity on Sunday evening, according to the governor’s services, and six thousand consumers remained without electricity on Monday morning, according to the specialized PowerOutage website.
A flooded road in Rockland County, New York on July 9, 2023 (New York State Police / -)
Highways were closed Sunday night in at least five counties across the state. Amtrak, the railroad company, suspended communication between the state capital, Albany, and New York City “due to inclement weather.”
The National Weather Service also warned of heavy rain “through Tuesday,” and urged residents on roads to “turn around rather than drown” in fresh flooding.
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