By The newspaper
Several hours of rain have caused havoc, traffic chaos and unimaginable scenes in New York City and its surroundings, in the midst of the state of emergency decreed this morning by the governor’s office and the mayor’s office, effective until tomorrow.
As of 3 pm, nearly 1,000 flights had been canceled at the three NYC-area airports (LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark/NJ), in addition to hundreds of delays. The Port Authority (NYNJPA) reported that while flights were still arriving and departing from airports, “intermittent ground stops are likely as heavy rain continues.”
The Metro has also suffered closures on some lines and delays on others, causing congestion on buses, many of them stuck in traffic. Subway and bus users are recommended to check MTA updates
LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal A was completely closed before 11 a.m. after the building flooded as a result of heavy rain. Videos from inside showed passengers, some of whom climbed onto chairs and/or opted to go barefoot, wading through inches of water just feet from the boarding gates of airlines such as Frontier and Spirit. All flights at Terminal A are canceled until 4 am on Saturday.
LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal A was forced to close down entirely before 11 am after the building itself flooded as a result of the heavy rainhttps://t.co/nCUAe0cz5D
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) September 29, 2023
It was the worst flooding at the airport since Storm Sandy 11 years ago, he noted. NBC News. One passenger described water coming in through the bathrooms.
The other two terminals at LGA airport remained open, having just been refurbished with special drainage protocols, but many flights were delayed due to water entering the airport’s refueling area. There are plans to modernize Terminal A to make it less prone to flooding.
All passengers scheduled to fly from any of the LGA buildings and other airports in the region are encouraged to check and confirm their flight status before heading to the terminal.
Most of this week, the first of fall, it has been raining in New York. At the moment there is a forecast of precipitation until at least tomorrow afternoon.
Weather updates can be found here and on the National Weather Service (NWS-NY) portal. More details here about the forecast in New York and Jersey counties and on this page NBCNewsWeather.
In other areas of the city, such as Brooklyn, heavy flooding has also been reported: