Tuesday, July 15, 2025

The New York-New Jersey area was battered by heavy rains on the night of July 14, leading to severe disruptions in the northeast of the United States. Flash flood warnings were issued for a wide expanse of the region, including millions of permanent and temporary residents. The heavy rain made driving dangerous, with some cars stuck in the rising water and travel across the area severely disrupted.

In response to the rising water levels and widespread flooding, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency, urging residents to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel. Authorities in neighboring states, including Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, issued similar warnings, highlighting the dangerous flash flood risks and advising drivers to avoid flooded roads.

As the storm intensified, major transportation hubs, including John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport, temporarily suspended departures. The move affected dozens of flights, leaving passengers stranded and causing delays that rippled across the entire air travel system.

In addition to airport closures, the storm wreaked havoc on the region’s public transport network. In New York City, several subway lines were either suspended or running with significant delays due to floodwaters surging through the stations. Social media footage showed torrents of muddy water bursting from subway station turnstiles, while passengers tried to navigate the chaotic conditions. Above ground, the streets were filled with gridlocked traffic, with major thoroughfares completely paralyzed by the rising waters.

The severity of the flash floods was starkly evident in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, where rescue workers were seen wading through the floodwaters with flotation devices after multiple vehicles became stranded in the sudden deluge. Footage from local news outlets, including CBS, captured the dramatic scenes of emergency responders rescuing drivers trapped in the flood. The flooding was so intense that it forced emergency services into action, highlighting the unexpected speed and power of the storm.

At the same time, authorities continued to urge residents to stay indoors and avoid traveling until conditions improved. The National Weather Service (NWS) emphasized the dangers of driving in flood-prone areas, issuing a direct warning to drivers to “turn around” when encountering flooded roads. “Most flood deaths occur in vehicles,” the NWS stated in a tweet, further underscoring the gravity of the situation.

In New York City, the storm was particularly harsh, with reports of more than 5cm (2 inches) of rain falling in some urban areas in less than two hours. The worst-hit areas included Staten Island, where rainfall reached between 10-15cm (4-6 inches) during the night. The city’s emergency notification system updated residents with real-time alerts about the ongoing storm, but many areas were already experiencing severe impacts by the time the warnings were issued.

While the city’s well-established infrastructure has long helped mitigate the effects of heavy rain, the intensity and rapid nature of the flooding highlighted the limitations of even the most robust flood management systems. Local officials, including Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat running for mayor of New York City, used the occasion to call for more significant investments in climate-resilient infrastructure. In a social media post, Mamdani urged city leaders to prioritize climate-proofing initiatives, acknowledging that these extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and unpredictable due to climate change. “We must upgrade our infrastructure for this new climate reality,” he wrote.

The rapid flooding that overwhelmed parts of New York and New Jersey is a stark reminder of the growing challenges posed by climate change. As more intense storms become a reality, cities and states across the U.S. must find ways to enhance their infrastructure to cope with such extreme weather events.

In addition to immediate safety concerns, these types of storms also highlight the importance of longer-term investment in flood mitigation and resilience. Many communities in the northeastern U.S. have long been vulnerable to flash floods, but the speed and volume of this storm serve as a wake-up call for both local and state officials. Policymakers are already discussing ways to better equip the region’s transportation systems, stormwater infrastructure, and emergency response protocols to handle increasingly erratic weather patterns.

The storm also serves as a reminder that it’s not just the major metropolitan areas that need to adapt, but also smaller towns and rural areas that may lack the resources to quickly recover from severe flooding. As climate change continues to alter the global weather pattern, it is crucial that cities like New York, New Jersey, and others in the northeastern U.S. invest in sustainable solutions for flood management and other climate-related challenges.

As the storm moves out of the region, authorities continue to assess the damage and work on flood relief efforts. The National Weather Service has predicted that the slow-moving storm will continue to drop heavy rain over the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian regions, potentially causing more flash flooding over the next few days. The flood warning for parts of New Jersey remains in effect until Tuesday morning, and residents are advised to remain cautious as they await further updates.

In the short term, what is evident is, as communities rebuild in the wake of this extreme weather event, so too will the lessons learned serve as vital touchstones for the development of flood resilience and emergency preparedness across the northeastern United States. “The destruction caused by this storm clearly shows that the time for climate adaptation and infrastructure investment is now, and not in the future — and that our region’s survival depends on these investments.”

The storm is beginning to abate; New York, New Jersey, and the rest of the impacted region have a massive task ahead of them to rebuild — but they also must think ahead, to a future likely to bring more and more extreme weather events.