NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The New York City subway system is starting to get rolling again Thursday morning after flood waters caused much of the system to come to a screeching halt Wednesday night.
.@MTA Service Update. More trains are slowly coming back online in limited capacity. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/BGfhOOFKxz
— Aundrea Cline-Thomas (@AClineThomas) September 2, 2021
First responders had to rescue passengers on buses and trains.
Gov. Kathy Hochul praised MTA workers for braving the storm to assist New Yorkers. Hochul said she spoke with President Joe Biden, who promised to approve “any declaration” to bring federal aid to bear.
“What’s so fascinating is that the records that were broken in Central Park, for example, 3.15 inches in one hour, it broke a record literally set one week earlier,” Hochul said. “That says to me that there are no more cataclysmic, unforeseeable events. We need to foresee these in advance, and be prepared.”
IDA’S IMPACT:
Hochul said that, after Sandy, the state had made major investments in resiliency in coastal communities. She said that Ida proved that the threat from major storms has since evolved.
“But where we have a vulnerability is in our streets, with the higher elevations now. With the flash floods, which are unknown before. This is the first time we’ve had a flash flood event of this proportion in the city of New York and in the outlying areas. We haven’t experienced this before, but we should expect it the next time,” Hochul said.
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“When the streets get flooded, what happens next? The water rushes down, not just through the highways, but also finds its way to penetrate our subway system. And as a result, what happened yesterday? Trains were shut down. People were stranded. The fear that they must’ve experienced when this occurred, I cannot imagine. And I don’t want this to happen again,” Hochul said.
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Hochul said she is concerned about building up resiliency in the streets and drainage systems.
CBS2 learned there were at least six evacuations on subways stuck between stations as a result of Ida.
Passengers at the 28th Street station couldn’t believe their eyes as an avalanche of water came pouring in.
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On Staten Island, an MTA bus had to stop after being submerged in waist-deep water. Firefighters walked passengers and the driver to higher ground at a nearby building.
The driver of another bus managed to navigate the flooded roads and get to safety….
Read More: Subways Coming Back Online After Flood Waters Fill Subways And Buses – CBS