{"id":239329,"date":"2026-05-21T14:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/239329\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:48:11","slug":"new-york-city-hit-with-flash-floods-leaving-drivers-submerged-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/239329\/","title":{"rendered":"New York City hit with flash floods, leaving drivers submerged"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City was pummeled with heavy rain and thunderstorms, leaving stranded drivers forced to seek refuge atop their cars amid the violent flash flooding.<\/p>\n

Wild footage showed cars being overwhelmed as a deluge of rain and 60-mph winds battered the city late Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Queens native Charlton D\u2019Souza, founder of nonprofit organization Passengers United, was on board an MTA bus when the floods hit Queens Village during his commute home.<\/p>\n

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A bus tries to navigate flash floods in New York City. Charlton from Passengers United via Storyful<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the worst flooding I have seen on Hempstead Ave,\u201d D\u2019Souza said, according to Storyful.<\/p>\n

Queens and Brooklyn were among the areas hit the worst \u2014 with two inches of rain recorded in under an hour, CNN reported<\/a>, citing New York state Mesonet data.<\/p>\n

Video showed<\/a> a good Samaritan wading through the floodwaters on the Jackie Robinson Parkway to rescue the stranded driver who was sitting on his car roof.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cops were forced to seal off an underpass near 78th Street when two cars were trapped in several feet of water, according to CBS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was violent and it was very, very fast,\u201d Christina Moloon told the outlet.<\/p>\n

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A lightning bolt is captured above the New York City skyline. Debora Domass via Storyful<\/p>\n

\u201cThe van almost floated away. It was, like, nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

A driver in Fresh Meadows, Queens, likened the road to a \u201cswimming pool\u201d while Joe Conti said he couldn\u2019t even open the doors of his vehicle because the water was too high.<\/p>\n

The dramatic downpours forced schools to cancel extracurricular activities.<\/p>\n

Footage shared <\/a>from Fulton Street, Brooklyn, showed two people standing on a bench at a bus shelter, surrounded by rising floodwaters.<\/p>\n

One woman was seen struggling with her shopping bags as she tried to walk home in Bushwick, while others were seen trying to guide water toward drains.<\/p>\n

Scenes looked biblical in Hillside, Jamaica, Queens \u2014 with one X user saying<\/a> the floods hit within a \u201cspan of 25 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Footage, which has since gone viral<\/a>, shows a woman being taken off her feet by the raging waters as she steps off a bus in Jamaica.<\/p>\n

Lizzy, a Forest Hills resident, described the flash flooding as \u201cdangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The severe storms damaged highways. CBS News<\/p>\n

\u201cTrains are down, had to wade through at least a foot of water to cross the street,\u201d she wrote on X.<\/a><\/p>\n

The downpours sparked widespread travel chaos, with F and J line services partially suspended.<\/p>\n

The F Line was suspended at Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike Station and Jamaica-179 St Station, PIX11 reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Services on the E, M, R, and J trains saw timetable changes, and New Yorkers were urged to stay alert and take precautions as the thunderstorms ripped through.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Trees were downed as winds up to 60 mph ripped through the city. CBS News<\/p>\n

\u201cCall 911 if you are in immediate danger, trapped by rising water, or see a life-threatening situation,\u201d NYC Emergency Management officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you hear thunder, go inside. Damaging winds are the primary hazard we are monitoring tonight. Move into a sturdy building, stay away from windows, and go to an interior room.\u201cAvoid rooftops, balconies, porches, glass doors, plumbing, and electrical equipment. If thunderstorm warnings are issued, stay in your safe indoor location.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Broken trees and debris strewn across a Brooklyn street. Igor Rudenko via Storyful<\/p>\n

New Yorkers who live in low-lying areas were told to move to higher ground if they see floodwater.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever walk, swim, or drive through floodwater,\u201d emergency management officials said.<\/p>\n

The wet weather comes just days before the Memorial Day weekend, which is set to be chilly compared to recent temperatures.<\/p>\n

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People help a trapped motorist on the Jackie Robinson Parkway on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. @amendandrevise<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, temperatures reached highs of 93 degrees, but on Saturday, the mercury will dip to 57.<\/p>\n

Scattered showers are forecast for Sunday and the mercury might only hit 68 on Memorial Day, according to NBC4.<\/a><\/p>\n

Those thinking about heading outdoors Sunday were advised to think again \u2014 with forecasters warning it\u2019s not set to be a day for the beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City was pummeled with heavy rain and thunderstorms, leaving stranded drivers forced to seek refuge atop…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93497,15353,10342,9,24,55,54,56,93496,122,93498],"class_list":["post-239329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-charlton-dsouza","tag-flash-flooding","tag-fresh-meadows","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-passengers-united","tag-queens","tag-storyful"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}