Several rescued on NYC highways from flash flooding, officials say

Police rescued six people from a Queens highway on Tuesday night as flooding inundated local roads and low-lying areas in parts of New York City and Northern New Jersey.

The six people were rescued on the Cross Island Parkway sometime before 11 p.m., according to the city’s Emergency Management agency, which had issued a citywide travel advisory into Wednesday.

Aries Dela Cruz, a spokesperson for NYC Emergency Management, told Gothamist on Tuesday night that first responders had rescued a handful of other car passengers on the Henry Hudson Hudson Parkway, which runs from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to Westchester County, and Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. He said the city’s 311 system had received more than 130 calls about abandoned vehicles and roughly 70 calls about sewer backups.

As of early Wednesday morning, the NYPD had reported no injuries or deaths related to the storms that swept through the area starting on Tuesday afternoon. The FDNY said it had responded to numerous calls overnight from people experiencing water leaks and needing assistance, but also reported no injuries or deaths.

Pictures and video posted to social media on Tuesday evening showed intense flooding at times on the Cross Island Parkway, the Major Deegan Expressway from Van Cortlandt Park to West 230th Street, the Henry Hudson Parkway and the Cross Bronx Expressway.

In Hackensack, New Jersey, the fire department said on Tuesday night that “nearly half the city” was flooded, and urged people to avoid the area. “If you're out on the road find a diner somewhere to eat or a dry spot and just wait till the water recedes,” the department said in a post on X.

By 11:30 p.m., Fordham in the Bronx had one of the highest rainfall totals in all five boroughs, reporting more than 5 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. City Island and parts of Nassau County recorded more than 4 inches.

LaGuardia Airport in Queens got just under 2 inches of rainfall, as did Central Park. Meanwhile, Bogota, New Jersey, which is located near Hackensack in Bergen County, recorded nearly 5.5 inches of rain.

NJ Transit reported residual delays on its Morris and Essex lines early on Wednesday morning, citing “downed trees in the overhead wires.” The MTA reported no major weather-related delays for the New York City subway, Metro-North Railroad or Long Island Rail Road.

Overnight, there were more than 1,370 flight cancelations and more than 970 flight delays at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports, according to NYC Emergency Management.

More rainfall is expected later this week as the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby move through the New York metro area.

Elizabeth Kim contributed reporting. This is a developing story and may be updated.