What to Know
- Two days after torrential rain knocked out certain lines for Metro-North and ultimately led to severe deadly flooding in the Hudson Valley, the rail service has restored some of the service
- Certain train services have been suspended, as added bus service has taken its place, where possible.
- The slow-moving storms soaked a large portion of the Hudson Valley throughout most of Sunday, among other regions of the tri-state. The deluge of rainfall has reportedly flooded a number of homes, caused mudslides and shutdown portions of major roadways.
Two days after torrential rain knocked out certain lines for Metro-North and ultimately led to severe deadly flooding in the Hudson Valley, the rail service has restored some of the service.
The Metropolitan Transportation Agency said there was a partial restoration of service on the Hudson Line beginning Tuesday following clean-up from the storms that rocked the area Sunday night into Monday. Trains on that particular line will operate at least one time per hour between Grand Central Terminal and Peekskill.
By Wednesday, the agency said the Hudson Line should be operating once again at nearly full schedule.
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Metro-North will also continue to provide limited bus service for essential travelers between Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie, making one other stop at Beacon, the MTA said. There will be no service at Manitou, Garrison, Cold Spring and New Hamburg.
The transit agency said its Upper Harlem Line will be back to a normal schedule on Wednesday, resuming operations to and from Wassaic after shuttering on Monday. During the pause, buses were transporting commuters with stops at all stations.
To be able to restore partial service so soon is a testament to the around-the-clock work undertaken by the Metro-North workforce,” said Metro-North Railroad President and LIRR Interim President Catherine Rinaldi. “The work will continue without stopping into Tuesday as we work to restore full service on the Hudson and Harlem lines as soon as possible.”
Customers normally riding to or from the affected stations are encouraged to work from home where that is an option. Several roads that were washed out or damaged have since reopened, though other roads (including some well-traveled thoroughfares like Route 9W and the Palisades Parkway) still remain closed in some spots and inaccessible for vehicles.
Rockland County Ed Day advised people to hold on to their receipts for possible reimbursement if federal aid money comes in from FEMA.
"Now we are seeing the roads as they are, the Impact of the water. And we are seeing situations where the roads were compromised. A lot more work to be done," he said.
The slow-moving storms soaked a large portion of the Hudson Valley throughout most of Sunday, among other regions of the tri-state. The deluge of rainfall has reportedly flooded a number of homes, caused mudslides and shutdown portions of major roadways.
The full extent of Sunday's storms is still uncertain as rain continued dumping into the evening. Because of the slow nature of the storms, steady and sustained rainfall led to high accumulations and even bigger problems for people needing to get around.
A flash flood emergency is rarely issued, maybe once a year. The National Weather Service says anyone in the impacted area could see flash floods become "a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage."
In a briefing held by Gov. Kathy Hochul Monday morning in Highland Falls in Orange County -- the epicenter of the devastation -- the state leader said that 9 inches fell in the region -- calling it a "1,000-year event."
"Once again the skies opened up, and wrought so much rain 9 inches of rain in this community, that they're calling this a 1,000 year event," Hochul said. "It's only the second time ever that NWS issued a flash flood emergency. The last time was hurricane Ida. My friends, this is the new normal."
The rain totals are far from complete, but already parts of the Hudson Valley have seen close to a foot of rain. Counties like Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester have been some of the hardest hit.
Conditions worsened to the point where the Orange County executive and governor of New York called for a state of emergency. Orange County Exec Steven Neuhaus said that an investigation was underway into the death of a woman in her mid-30s reportedly trying to evacuated from her home with her dog and she was swept away by a flash flood. Hochul said the victim was a 35-year-old woman who was swept away in front of her partner.
