A monster belt of thunderstorms has made a mess of New Jersey and New York, with the latter seeing a rare flash flood emergency urging people to move to higher ground and avoid travel.
The slow-moving storms soaked a large portion of the Hudson Valley throughout most of Sunday, among other regions of the tri-state. The deluge of rainfall has reportedly flooded a number of homes, caused mudslides and shutdown portions of major roadways.
The full extent of Sunday's storms is still uncertain as rain continued dumping into the evening. Because of the slow nature of the storms, steady and sustained rainfall led to high accumulations and even bigger problems for people needing to get around.
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A flash flood emergency is rarely issued, maybe once a year. The National Weather Service says anyone in the impacted area could see flash floods become "a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage."
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In a briefing held by Gov. Kathy Hochul Monday morning in Highland Falls in Orange County -- the epicenter of the devastation -- the state leader said that 9 inches fell in the region -- calling it a "1,000 year event."
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"Once again the skies opened up, and wrought so much rain 9 inches of rain in this community, that they're calling this a 1,000 year event," Hochul said. "It's only the second time ever that NWS issued a flash flood emergency. The last time was hurricane Ida. My friends, this is the new normal."
The rain totals are far from complete, but already parts of the Hudson Valley have seen close to a foot of rain. Counties like Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester have been some of the hardest hit.
Conditions worsened to the point where the Orange County executive and governor of New York called for a state of emergency. Orange County Exec Steven Neuhaus said that an investigation was underway into the death of a woman in her mid-30s reportedly trying to evacuated from her home with her dog and she was swept away by a flash flood. Hochul said the victim was a 35-year-old woman who was swept away in front of her partner.
"We're just trying to get through the next 24 hours. We've opened up an emergency shelter in the Village of Highland Falls. The problem is, you either have water or power, or one of the other, or neither. It's going to be a tough night for a lot of people," Neuhaus said.
Additionally, Neuhaus said during Hochul's press conference that tens of millions of dollars worth of damages is expected as a direct result of the floods.
The tragic weather developments, unfolded so rapidly that one woman who helped neighbors evacuate at her apartment complex said everyone jumped in to help as the first floor filled with water.
"Everyone was down their with umbrellas carrying people out of windows, getting people out of doors, making sure people had what they needed. Some of my neighbors were able to open their doors to them, so there are some apartments that are full of people right now," Highland Falls resident Melissa Roberts said.
Video show the utter destruction caused by out of control flooding in Highland Falls, where officials advised residents Sunday afternoon to stay home and avoid travel. Many of the roads, they said, weren't passable.
State police said drivers need to avoid the Palisades Parkway, Long Mountain Circle, the Bear Mountain Bridge and Route 6 due to flooding impacts. But the storms weren't just impacting the roads.
Transit officials said service had to be suspended between Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie, and would likely remain out of service through Monday, because of water, trees and boulders blocking the tracks. The issues on the track have also shuttered Amtrak service between Albany and NYC.
According to Hochul, the severe weather over the weekend stranded passengers on Amtrak trains, stranded more than 700 people in Putnam County Sunday night."
New York City finally started feeling the impacts of the thunderstorms near the end of the day. The band of showers finally moved far enough east and into the metro area in the late evening where it was expected to rain through the night.
By 10 p.m., more than an inch of rain had fallen in parts of the Bronx and Manhattan, with another 1-2 inches possible, the National Weather Service tweeted.
Flash flood warnings expired in many counties by the end of the night, though a few were left in New Jersey and some of the five boroughs. The main band of torrential rain that struck Orange County has passed, but there were still isolated, heavy lingering showers.
According to Hochul, the first step is to assess the damage and obtain FEMA assistance.
The severe weather is expected to continue north in Albany and Champlain area -- moving farther east to Vermont. The governor went on to say that there is no further damage expected for New York at the moment.
According to the governor's office, around 5,500 people in upstate are still without power as of Monday morning, with Orange and Ontario counties remaining under a state of emergency.
"New York is in the middle of a dangerous 48 hours where extreme weather conditions have put much of our state at risk," Hochul said in a statement. "I have declared a State of Emergency for Orange and Ontario Counties, where flooding last night made significant damage. While the storm has already passed through the southern part of New York, conditions remain dangerous in further north where there are ongoing extreme weather conditions. I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant, monitor local forecasts and have an evacuation plan ready if you're in a danger zone."
The American Red Cross has set up two shelters nto assist those impacted by the storms and subsequent floodings: one in Ontario County at the Canandaigua Town Hall (5440 Route 5 & 20 West, Canandaigua) and in Orange County at the Sacred Heart School (7 Cozzens Avenue, Highland Falls).
