Dramatic video captured water pouring into Manhattan subway stations during a severe downpour Monday night, with floodwaters gushing onto platforms and into train cars. Footage from the No. 1 line showed commuters standing on seats to escape the rising water as it pooled on the floor of a subway car.
The deluge, which dropped more than two inches of rain in a single hour, overwhelmed the city’s sewer and storm drain systems. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber explained that the intense rainfall backed up the drainage network, causing it to flood into subway stations.
“When you get an inch and three-quarters [of rain] in an hour, the city sewer system gets overwhelmed,” Lieber said. He noted that in some areas on the West Side, the pressure was so great that it dislodged manhole covers, creating “geyser” conditions that exacerbated the flooding. Lieber stated that the MTA has been urging the city to increase sewer capacity in key locations.
Despite the chaotic scenes, officials said the transit system recovered quickly. Service disruptions on the affected West Side line were limited to about 90 minutes, with intermittent delays on other lines due to signal issues. Lieber credited MTA employees for their overnight work, which ensured that subways, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North were all running on a normal schedule by Tuesday morning.
Officials confirmed Monday’s storm produced the second-highest one-hour rainfall ever recorded in Central Park, an amount surpassed only by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021.
The incident highlights a persistent infrastructure challenge. Rohit Aggarwala, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, acknowledged that while the city has invested heavily in maintenance, expanding sewer capacity is a long-term project. “The reality is we are going to do as much work as we possibly can,” Aggarwala said, “but we can’t protect against absolutely everything.”
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