Torrential downpours wreaked havoc on the Big Apple over the weekend, as the nearly nonstop rain flooded city streets and caused the wall of a residential building to collapse in the Bronx.
Drivers got trapped in the middle of the rapidly rising waters on roads across the city and Bronx residents were forced to evacuate during the nasty spring storm Sunday.
Flood advisories were issued for parts of the city located in low-lying and poor-drainage areas Sunday night as nearly five inches of rain accumulated in Central Park over the last 60 hours.
The FDNY rushed to reports that a wall on the fourth floor of a Bronx building at 2085 Valentine Ave. came crashing down due to the weather around 5:45 p.m., officials said. The entire building was forced to evacuate, the FDNY said.
Residents in multiple buildings on Ryer Street right next to Valentine Avenue were also evacuated as a precaution, department officials said.
Staffers with the Department of Buildings were on the scene to evaluate the safety of the buidlings, according to the FDNY.
Mayor Eric Adams also headed to the scene.
“Was enroute to the Bronx to check on a partial wall collapse at an apartment building on Valentine Avenue due to the heavy rain this weekend,” Adams tweeted. “Thankfully no one was injured and our team at was quick to connect families who needed services with the @RedCross.”
The awful weather conditions were so punishing that stranded drivers needed to be rescued in Queens.
Around 8 p.m., first responders helped travelers whose cars were trapped from the flooding on the Cross Island Parkway going southbound in Queens, the FDNY said. Footage posted on social media appeared to show firefighters coming to the help of at least two cars stuck in the floodwaters.
Other footage showed drivers braving washed out roads and highways in different parts of the city. Another tweet showed customers at a Home Depot in the Bronx looking to buy sump pumps.
Part of various Big Apple highways were also closed due to flooding and the A train service in part of the Bronx was suspected, the city said.
LaGuardia Airport tallied 5.7 inches of rain over the last 60 hours as Central Park was expected to surpass five inches by the time the storm ended sometime overnight into Monday, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Matt Rinde.
Other parts of the city have been hit with between three to about six inches of rainfall, he said.
The NYC emergency notification system warned residents that life-threatening flooding could affect city dwellers who live in basement apartments.
“Prepare now to move to higher ground if needed,” one tweet from emergency management said.
Back in 2021, Hurricane Ida devastated the city with heavy floodwaters killing 13 people — including a toddler — in the five boroughs. Of those fatalities, 11 were residents living in basement apartments who were trapped in their homes and drowned.
Various highways and roads in New Jersey and New York suburbs were also closed due to the powerful storm.
The New York State Police advised in a tweet that parts of the Taconic State Parkway in both directions and the Sprain Brook Parkway northbound were shut down due to flooding in Westchester County.
