Cleanup continues after heavy storms flood roads, rails in Tri-State area
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Torrential rain pummeled parts of the Northeast on Thursday, including New York City and New Jersey, stranding rush-hours passengers on a train stuck in floodwaters and inundating some roadways.
Ahead of the storm, states of emergencies were declared in New York City and New Jersey, and crews were expected to continue cleaning up from the deluge into Friday.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the worst weather was in Queens, where storms dumped 5 inches of rain.
Over 100 passengers were rescued from a stranded Long Island Rail Road train near the Bayside station, which had become stuck in rising floodwaters during rush hour.
Passengers had to wait about 2 hours before emergency crews could get them to safety.
"When they said we had to climb down all of a sudden I was having a panic attack," one rider said.
The LIRR announced the Port Washington branch was running at full service Friday after some early morning cancellations and reduced service. Two trains were canceled Friday morning for lack of train cars and equipment out of position following the storm.
Nearby, a retaining wall behind a home gave way in a rockslide, sending debris into the backyard.
The avalanche of rocks all came from the Long Island Railroad Port Washington branch. Homeowners Diedre and Kosti Agapakis said they feared this would happen.
"When it rains hard there's nowhere to go and from what I've been told, there's a very small channel to pass through and debris gets caught up in there and the LIRR tries to do periodic checks but I don't think it's been sufficient," Agapakis said.
Several vehicles also became submerged in floodwaters, causing swift water rescue teams to respond.
The state had already pre-positioned emergency vehicles, power generators and other resources ahead of the storm, helping crews respond quickly. A state of emergency was declared in 14 counties, and the state's operations center was fully activated, according to Hochul.
During the height of the storm, heavy rain had closed sections of major New York City roads, including the Long Island Expressway, Cross Island Parkway, FDR Drive and the Clearview Expressway. Some services on the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit were also suspended.
On Staten Island, several streets were underwater in the Stapleton section due to the flooding -- and it has caused issues for businesses in the area on Friday morning.
Video from the Staten Island Advocate newspaper showed cars submerged in the middle of the street and people walking through the flood waters.
Flash flooding prompted multiple rescues on both local streets and the Staten Island Expressway.
And two homes were also struck by lightning, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
In New Jersey, acting Gov. Tahesha Way said Thursday that flooding was reported across several major highways.
Parts of the state, including Plainfield, were still recovering from recent deadly storms and are now facing additional damage, according to the governor, who said saturated ground is worsening the impact of flooding.
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
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