Continuous heavy rain over the weekend in New York flooded streets, impeded traffic, and caused the collapse of a residential building wall in the Bronx.
On Sunday, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) received reports that a wall on the fourth floor of a building at 2085 Valentine Avenue in the Bronx borough collapsed at approximately 5:45 p.m. due to inclement weather conditions.
The entire building was forced to evacuate while the rain poured down.
In consultation with staffers of the Department of Buildings, residents of multiple adjacent buildings on Ryer Street next to Valentine Ave. were also evacuated as a precaution, FDNY said.
Mayor Eric Adams headed to the scene.
“Was en route 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 [sic] was quick to connect families who needed services with the Red Cross.”
The mayor thanked the FDNY, the NYC Emergency Management, NYPD, and NYC Housing for helping the residents.
Later that day, flood advisories were issued in low-lying parts of the city and areas with poor drainage as drivers found themselves stuck in rising waters on roads throughout the city.
In a tweet, NYC’s official emergency notification system alerted people to prepare “to move to higher ground if needed.”
“Never drive through flooded roadways, especially when the water is moving fast. Drownings can result from driving through water. And remember, the water could be deeper than it looks,” the FDNY warned on social media.
Some drivers were found trapped in their vehicles and required assistance in Queens.
The rain submerged city streets and highways all over NYC. Certain parts of several New York highways had to be closed off temporarily.
In the Bronx, a crowd formed at Home Depot as people arrived to buy sump pumps.
A train service in a part of the Bronx was suspended due to the flooding.
Around 8 p.m., emergency responders were sent to the southbound lane of Cross Island Parkway in Queens. Footage on social media showed firefighters rescuing people stranded in their cars on the flooded highway.
Over the last 60 hours, LaGuardia Airport recorded 5.7 inches of rain, as Central Park tallied 5 inches. Other parts of the city were hit with between 3 and 6 inches of rainfall, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Matt Rinde.