New York City’s heavy rain is ‘new normal’ due to climate change, says governor

NEW YORK CITY - Torrential downpours after

a week of mostly steady rainfall that brought flash floods

to New York City on Friday was an impact of climate change and likely reflects a “new normal,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Saturday.

“Of course, we know, this is (the) result of climate change. This is unfortunately what we have to expect as the new normal,” she said in an address.

Almost 20cm of rain fell in some parts of the United States’ most populous city, enough to enable a sea lion at the Central Park Zoo to briefly swim out of the confines of her pool enclosure.

Another few inches could fall in the region before the storm system pushes out to sea later, forecasters said.

Ms Hochul warned of “life-threatening” floods and declared a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley.

She hailed the response of the authorities, saying on Saturday that no fatalities were reported despite the heavy rain.

Flooding caused major disruptions to New York City’s subway system and the Metro North commuter rail service, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Agency, which operates both. Some subway lines were suspended entirely, and many stations were closed. Some bus routes slowed to a crawl, trapping riders for hours. Officials advised New Yorkers to avoid travelling unless they were fleeing a flooded area.

Ms Hochul said on Saturday that a state of emergency, which allows for faster allocation of resources to deal with a crisis, will remain in effect for the next six days.

The New York Governor added that she had spoken to the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and said they were prepared to support a federal emergency declaration of disaster if necessary. REUTERS