Flood in New York: The city that never sleeps under water

With roads submerged and suburban trains at a standstill, chaos has descended on the megalopolis of New York due to torrential rain in the north-east of the United States. The storms tested the city's resilience in the face of extreme weather conditions. In the space of 24 hours, no less than 20 centimetres of rain fell, which was described as the "wettest day" since 1948 at JFK International Airport, according to the New York Weather Service.

Faced with this situation, Democratic mayor Eric Adams called on citizens to exercise caution: "If you are at home, stay at home; if you are at work or school, seek shelter for the time being. Part of the metro is flooded and it is extremely difficult to get around the city." Images broadcast by the media and on social networks show vehicles struggling to get around on flooded roads, or even completely stuck with water up to their windows. They also show shopkeepers desperately trying to get the water out of their shops, and submerged underground stations.

The rising waters reached the first floor of the Brooklyn building where Ahmed Abdou, a 50-year-old taxi driver, lives. He deplores the lack of preparation for these seasonal storms: "All these storms arrive at the same time every year. We should anticipate them better. He also criticised the state of the metro, describing it as "catastrophic". New York City's Commissioner of Environmental Protection, Rohit Aggarwala, points out that "the sad reality is that our climate is changing faster than our infrastructure can respond".

The underground system, essential for millions of New Yorkers for their daily commute, was severely disrupted. Several major lines in the borough of Brooklyn had been closed since Friday morning, and traffic was limited throughout the underground network, one of the largest in the world with more than 30 lines and around 420 stations.

The authorities have declared a state of emergency for New York, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, areas regularly affected by flooding. New York City, still scarred by the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida in September 2021, takes these extreme weather events very seriously. During that storm, 13 people lost their lives, mainly trapped in basements that had been converted into housing in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.