Heavy Rain Causes Floods And Disrupted Transportation, New York Mayor Announces State Of Emergency

Flood illustration. (Unsplash/@wadeaustinellis)

JAKARTA - New York City, United States Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency on Wednesday evening local time, as heavy rainfall he said was record-breaking, causing flooding and dangerous conditions on roads.

"Please don't get off the streets tonight and let our quick response services and emergency services finish their job. If you're thinking of going out, don't. Stay away from subways. Stay off roads. Don't drive onto roads that are submerged in water. Stay inside.", he said on Twitter, citing Reuters September 2.

Nearly all of New York City's subway lines were suspended on Wednesday night, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida brought heavy rains and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes to the northern mid-Atlantic, CNN reported earlier.

All non-emergency vehicles were banned from New York City streets until 5 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Thursday due to the weather, city authorities said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, at least five flash flood emergencies were issued Wednesday evening by the National Weather Service, stretching from west of Philadelphia through northern New Jersey.

Earlier in the evening, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also declared a state of emergency in response to Tropical Storm Ida.

Hurricane damage from Ida shocked officials three days after a devastating storm hit southern Louisiana when surveillance flights revealed entire communities were devastated by wind and flooding.

Tornadoes generated by the storm wreaked havoc in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, images on social media showed. At least nine homes were destroyed in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, Philadelphia television station NBC10 reported.

New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport said on Twitter it was experiencing "severe flooding". It said it "resumed limited flight operations" nearly midnight after all flight activity was suspended on Wednesday night.

New York City also experienced flooding, with social media images showing water gushing over subway and train platforms. "Subway services were severely limited due to flooding", the Metropolitan Transit Authority said.

The rapid reaction service evacuated people from the subway system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) acting chairman and CEO, Janno Lieber, said in a statement.