Queens (BN24) – New York City was pummeled by torrential rains that shattered October rainfall records, killing two people in flooded basements and disrupting flights across the region’s major airports, officials said late Wednesday.
Authorities confirmed that a 39-year-old man in Brooklyn and a 43-year-old man in Manhattan died after becoming trapped in flooded basement areas as storms swept through the city. The downpour, described by meteorologists as historic, brought the city to a standstill with flash floods inundating streets, subways, and homes.
Emergency responders in Brooklyn said a scuba team recovered the body of the 39-year-old victim after he tried to rescue one of his dogs in the basement of a three-story townhouse. In Manhattan, police discovered another man’s body in a flooded boiler room, with investigations into the cause of death ongoing. Both incidents occurred while the National Weather Service had flash flood warnings in effect across parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
Mayor Eric Adams said the deluge overwhelmed New York’s drainage systems. “This storm broke rainfall records for October 30,” Adams said on X. “Much of the rain forecast to fall over several hours came down in just ten minutes.”
According to the National Weather Service, Central Park recorded 1.85 inches (4.7 cm) of rainfall, LaGuardia Airport logged 2.09 inches (5.31 cm), and Newark Liberty International Airport saw 1.99 inches (5.05 cm). The sudden downpour turned streets into rivers, leaving cars submerged and trees toppled across neighborhoods.
Airport officials at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark confirmed that dozens of flights were delayed or canceled due to flooding and ground stoppages. “Street flooding was highly localized,” one transport official said, “but several intersections and airport access roads became impassable for hours.”
City workers were deployed overnight to clear clogged drains, while weather authorities issued coastal flood warnings for low-lying areas of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. The heavy rain, which followed a season of unusually warm and wet weather, exposed the limits of New York’s aging stormwater infrastructure.
Mayor Adams warned that climate-related storms are hitting the city with growing frequency and intensity. “When you look at the amount of water coming down,” he said, “our sewer systems are just not built to handle that.”
The latest storm marks one of the most severe October rain events on record for New York City, following similar floods that paralyzed the city in 2021 and 2023. Officials said recovery crews remain on alert as additional showers are forecast in the coming days.
