SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Flooding in Brooklyn Monday evening had commuters walking in waist-deep waters in some areas. (Screenshot: Adrienne Zhao)
'This is What the Climate Crisis Looks Like': One Day After Crushing Heat Wave, Flash Floods Inundate New York City
"Looks like New York City declared their climate emergency just in time."
Jul 23, 2019
Less than a month after New York City declared a climate emergency, the reality of the crisis came crashing home Monday as streets across Brooklyn and Queens were inundated with flash flooding a day after power went down in three boroughs due to a heat wave.
Commuters headed home late in the day were stymied by trains shut down due to flash flooding from rain that hit the city after a days-long heat wave that drove temperatures into the triple digits.
"This is what the climate crisis looks like," tweeted youth-led environmental movement Sunrise Movement.
\u201cAfter days of a deadly heatwave, New York is now facing historic flooding.\n\nThis is what the climate crisis looks like.\u201d— Sunrise Movement \ud83c\udf05 (@Sunrise Movement \ud83c\udf05) 1563852616
Con Ed cut power to areas in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island Sunday night after the weekend heat wave strained the energy company's infrastructure.
On Monday evening, a rain storm that hit the area at 8pm caused flash flooding. Streets in Brooklyn were impassable as water rose to people's waists, leading at least one Uber driver, Walid Shawon, and his customer in Brooklyn's South Slope neighborhood to flee the vehicle from a window and swim to safety.
"My car was floating in the water," Shawon told The New York Daily News. "We put it in neutral and it floated like a boat."
As Twitter user @brahmsposting noted, the water that Shawon and his fare forded comes from the Superfund site Gowanus Canal, making the flooding potentially toxic.
"The water isn't even safe to touch without special gear," tweeted @brahmsposting.
As a number of commentators pointed out on social media, the flooding punctuated the growing threat of the climate crisis and how it will affect the world's most populous cities.
"Looks like New York City declared their climate emergency just in time," meteorologist Eric Holthaus tweeted sardonically.
The flooding and heat wave, tweeted City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, makes clear that the "bottom line" for New Yorkers is to do what needs to be done to prepare for the effects of the crisis.
"We must do all we can to get our infrastructure ready," Johnson said. "Every night like this we need to recommit ourselves to the global fight against climate change."
But, as climate advocacy organization 350.org pointed out, not everyone is on board with that plan.
"It's worth noting that as New York City's roads, subways, and other vital infrastructure struggle to deal with climate impacts, @NYGovCuomo is weighing whether to build a new, climate-wrecking fracked gas pipeline in the city's harbor," the group tweeted.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Less than a month after New York City declared a climate emergency, the reality of the crisis came crashing home Monday as streets across Brooklyn and Queens were inundated with flash flooding a day after power went down in three boroughs due to a heat wave.
Commuters headed home late in the day were stymied by trains shut down due to flash flooding from rain that hit the city after a days-long heat wave that drove temperatures into the triple digits.
"This is what the climate crisis looks like," tweeted youth-led environmental movement Sunrise Movement.
\u201cAfter days of a deadly heatwave, New York is now facing historic flooding.\n\nThis is what the climate crisis looks like.\u201d— Sunrise Movement \ud83c\udf05 (@Sunrise Movement \ud83c\udf05) 1563852616
Con Ed cut power to areas in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island Sunday night after the weekend heat wave strained the energy company's infrastructure.
On Monday evening, a rain storm that hit the area at 8pm caused flash flooding. Streets in Brooklyn were impassable as water rose to people's waists, leading at least one Uber driver, Walid Shawon, and his customer in Brooklyn's South Slope neighborhood to flee the vehicle from a window and swim to safety.
"My car was floating in the water," Shawon told The New York Daily News. "We put it in neutral and it floated like a boat."
As Twitter user @brahmsposting noted, the water that Shawon and his fare forded comes from the Superfund site Gowanus Canal, making the flooding potentially toxic.
"The water isn't even safe to touch without special gear," tweeted @brahmsposting.
As a number of commentators pointed out on social media, the flooding punctuated the growing threat of the climate crisis and how it will affect the world's most populous cities.
"Looks like New York City declared their climate emergency just in time," meteorologist Eric Holthaus tweeted sardonically.
The flooding and heat wave, tweeted City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, makes clear that the "bottom line" for New Yorkers is to do what needs to be done to prepare for the effects of the crisis.
"We must do all we can to get our infrastructure ready," Johnson said. "Every night like this we need to recommit ourselves to the global fight against climate change."
But, as climate advocacy organization 350.org pointed out, not everyone is on board with that plan.
"It's worth noting that as New York City's roads, subways, and other vital infrastructure struggle to deal with climate impacts, @NYGovCuomo is weighing whether to build a new, climate-wrecking fracked gas pipeline in the city's harbor," the group tweeted.
Less than a month after New York City declared a climate emergency, the reality of the crisis came crashing home Monday as streets across Brooklyn and Queens were inundated with flash flooding a day after power went down in three boroughs due to a heat wave.
Commuters headed home late in the day were stymied by trains shut down due to flash flooding from rain that hit the city after a days-long heat wave that drove temperatures into the triple digits.
"This is what the climate crisis looks like," tweeted youth-led environmental movement Sunrise Movement.
\u201cAfter days of a deadly heatwave, New York is now facing historic flooding.\n\nThis is what the climate crisis looks like.\u201d— Sunrise Movement \ud83c\udf05 (@Sunrise Movement \ud83c\udf05) 1563852616
Con Ed cut power to areas in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island Sunday night after the weekend heat wave strained the energy company's infrastructure.
On Monday evening, a rain storm that hit the area at 8pm caused flash flooding. Streets in Brooklyn were impassable as water rose to people's waists, leading at least one Uber driver, Walid Shawon, and his customer in Brooklyn's South Slope neighborhood to flee the vehicle from a window and swim to safety.
"My car was floating in the water," Shawon told The New York Daily News. "We put it in neutral and it floated like a boat."
As Twitter user @brahmsposting noted, the water that Shawon and his fare forded comes from the Superfund site Gowanus Canal, making the flooding potentially toxic.
"The water isn't even safe to touch without special gear," tweeted @brahmsposting.
As a number of commentators pointed out on social media, the flooding punctuated the growing threat of the climate crisis and how it will affect the world's most populous cities.
"Looks like New York City declared their climate emergency just in time," meteorologist Eric Holthaus tweeted sardonically.
The flooding and heat wave, tweeted City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, makes clear that the "bottom line" for New Yorkers is to do what needs to be done to prepare for the effects of the crisis.
"We must do all we can to get our infrastructure ready," Johnson said. "Every night like this we need to recommit ourselves to the global fight against climate change."
But, as climate advocacy organization 350.org pointed out, not everyone is on board with that plan.
"It's worth noting that as New York City's roads, subways, and other vital infrastructure struggle to deal with climate impacts, @NYGovCuomo is weighing whether to build a new, climate-wrecking fracked gas pipeline in the city's harbor," the group tweeted.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.