NEW YORK (WABC) — Water not only covered the roadways but also unfortunately portions of the LIRR tracks, which was affecting the morning commute on Friday.
Crews were hard at work pumping out water trying to get things back on track, as cleanup continued throughout the Tri-State area from Thursday’s storms.
Flooding in Queens, LIRR Impacted
Reduced service is expected to continue throughout the Friday morning commute, but fortunately Port Washington line was running again with limited service.
The rail road is using a single track for the morning rush on that line until repairs can be made. The track bed is washed out under one track.
On Thursday, the sudden downpour made the Bayside LIRR stop look more like a Venetian canal with the train stopping just short of the flood.
Passengers waited two hours before first responders could help them to safety.
“When they said we had to climb down all of a sudden I was having a panic attack,” One rider said.
About a mile down the line there is still more damage.
Diedre and Kosti Agapakis didn’t know where to start after a sudden rockslide poured into their yard.
Ring camera video showed the dramatic moment a retaining wall failed.
“It was just pretty frightening to be complely honest,” Agapakis said.
The avalance of rocks all came from the Long Island Railroad Port Washington branch.
“My husband called me in a panic and I turned on the ring and saw the floods, just like the nile river coming through it’s like you don’t know who to call in that situation,” Agapakis said.
Homeowners 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.
Staten Island Flooding
Chantee Lans reports on the flooding from Staten Island.
Bay Street in Stapleton, Staten Island was flooded causing damage to businesses along the street.
Video from the Staten Island Advocate newspaper showed cars submerged in the middle of the street and people walking through the flood waters.
There was also an MTA bus that waited it out and chose not to drive through.
Remember, turn around, don’t drown.
Flash flooding prompted multiple rescues on both local streets and the Staten Island Expressway.
Two homes were also struck by lightning.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Commuter Troubles
Cars and trucks were stranded on the Clearview Expressway in Queens. Drivers were rescued from disabled vehicles and commuters on subways and buses also saw their share of problems.
It was another mission impossible for the New York City commuter.
Water seemed into an MTA bus as it waded through flooded streets in East Flatbush late Thursday afternoon.
In Park Slope, subway riders dodged water spouting from the walls and flooded floors.
Anthony Carlo reports on the flooded parts of the MTA after storms.
It was less of a commute and more of an arduous journey for Jose and Leslie.
“Very frustrated. We were at the subway station waiting for almost an hour under heat, we’re trying to go home,” Leslie Batista said.
They finally crossed the finish line at the 145th Street station after waiting for the D train.
“Nobody say nothing about it. Like a half hour passed and they say something like the train is suspended blah, blah, blah,” Jose Batista said.
The D trains among several lines were impacted not by the storm, but the heat that caused a signal power outage Thursday morning at the West 4th Street station.
It caused major disruptions for riders who waited for long periods of time.
It took roughly 8 hours to restore power.
In the meantime, workers had to manually signal trains, triggering massive delays across the city for the rest of the day.
The very same thing happened at 8:32 on Tuesday morning.
“We’re getting less options now, it’s more expensive and service sucks,” Batista said.
“Our system is dated and the extremes impact us. So extreme cold extreme heat are always a challenge for our system. It’s our goal to be able to provide good service. And this was not it” NYC Transit Authority President Demetrius Crichlow said.
Governor Kathy Hochul agreed saying New Yorkers deserve better and secured an investment to modernize the aging system as it deals with climate change.
The governor went a step further saying New Yorkers can’t wait anymore years for better service so she directed the MTA to undergo a full review of this week’s issues.
Elizabeth flooding
In Elizabeth, video from outside of a restaurant shows just how high the water came up.
All of the rain made the intersection look more like a lake.
South Orange Lightning
A lightning strike in New Jersey was so powerful that it hurled pieces of a tree as far as 150 feet.
The bolt struck on Woodland Road in South Orange leaving just a portion of the tree’s trunk standing.
There were branches scattered on the ground and chunks of wood that landed on a roof across the street.
There were branches scattered on the ground and chunks of wood that landed on a roof across the street.
———-
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
