Two people died in flooded New York City buildings on Thursday after sudden and intense rain brought a deluge of water to the city in a major afternoon squall.
A fire department scuba team responded to a 39-year-old man who was removed from a flooded basement on Kingston Avenue near Rutland Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn in the 4 p.m. hour on Thursday, according to the NYPD. He was later pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital, police said.
Around the same time on West 175th Street near Broadway in Washington Heights, police responded to a 43-year-old man who was found unconscious by officers inside a flooded basement boiler room. He was also later pronounced dead.
Neither man has been identified as of Thursday night, and police said the city medical examiner will determine a cause of death. A source told THE CITY that the man in Washington Heights was electrocuted as he was trying to deploy a pump to cope with flooding.
On Kingston Avenue, sources said fast-falling water flooded a basement area to the ceiling and overcame the man who had originally left the basement during the downpour, but returned in an attempt to rescue at least one pet.
Forecasts for Thursday had predicted between 1.5 and 2 inches to fall between 2 and 10 p.m. But instead, an inch of rain fell within 10 minutes, a huge amount for such a short period.
At 4:16 p.m., the Office of Emergency Management warned New Yorkers via social media of flash flooding, and advised to “not drive or walk where water covers the roadway” and to “move to higher ground, or, if in a basement, move to a higher floor.”
Central Park saw a total rainfall of 1.8 inches by late afternoon, setting a record for Oct. 30.
At a political gala in Brooklyn on Thursday night, Attorney General Letitia James announced the day’s deaths, asking the attendees “to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”
Councilmember Rita Joseph, who represents the part of Brooklyn where the death took place, said in a statement she is “deeply saddened” by the incident and offered condolences to his “loved ones during this unimaginable time.”
“As our city continues to confront the growing challenges of climate change, we must prioritize infrastructure investments that protect our most vulnerable residents and ensure that every neighborhood is resilient in the face of extreme weather,” she said.
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