Heavy Rain Halts Morning Rush by Commuters in New York City

NEW YORK —  Heavy rain followed by flooding caused havoc Thursday in New York City, virtually halting subways, trains and cars for hours and stranding hundreds of thousands of commuters.

City and railroad officials said service on six major subway lines was suspended, six others were forced to limit service and the Metro-North railroad into Manhattan from the northern suburbs was shut down. The rain also delayed flights at the region’s three major airports.

“You couldn’t have planned a worse heavy downpour than we got this morning,” New York City Transit Authority spokesman Al O’Leary said on New York 1 cable TV news channel.

“There was very heavy rain, very quick, it floods the storm sewers and in some cases the storm sewers weren’t able to take the water and it backed up into our stations. The water also comes through ventilation grates and stairways.”

The National Weather Service said about 3 inches of rain fell between 3 a.m. and 10 a.m. EDT.

Soggy commuters wandered from subway station to subway station, looking for a line that was running. Bus trips across Central Park that normally take 20 minutes lasted 90 minutes or longer.

Some commuters driving from New Jersey, Connecticut and the northern and eastern suburbs in New York State were forced to return home as flooded roads were closed to traffic or clogged with partially submerged vehicles.

By the evening rush hour, the flooding was under control and commuters were looking forward to almost normal conditions for their rides home, though a Metro-North spokesman said there could be delays during today’s commute.