Since Sunday, torrential rains in the Northeast have caused flooding that is destroying roads, turning streets into rivers that wash away cars and damaging homes. And while that sounds pretty bad on its own, the videos that people have posted showing the damage make it look even worse than you would have originally guessed just by reading about it.
NBC News reports that the Hudson Valley in New York received at least eight inches of rain overnight, although some areas may have received closer to 10 inches. For context, that’s apparently about as much rain as the valley typically gets all summer. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency in two counties, and the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency, which it has only ever done once before in that area.
Sadly, the flooding hasn’t just caused property damage. One woman died when she was swept away while she was trying to reach higher ground with her dog.
And New York is far from the only state dealing with these floods. Across the Northeast, approximately 27 million people are either under a flood watch or a flash flood warning. Even areas that “only” got five or six inches of rain are dealing with the damage that comes from fast-moving flash floods. Reading, Pennsylvania recorded 5.35 inches of rain, the most it’s ever gotten in a single day in July. One Reading resident posted a video of their Ford Mustang being washed away. But they seem to be taking it about as well as you can in a situation like that, adding the caption, “I told my car she could be anything she wants. MF turned into michael phelp.”
Norfolk, Connecticut was also hit hard, receiving about five inches of rain in the space of only 90 minutes. Not only is that an incomprehensible amount of rain in less time than it will take to watch the Barbie movie, but more rain is also expected later this week.
Hopefully, residents across the Northeast are able to stay safe, but this is bad, folks. Really bad. If you’re in that region, make sure you’re taking precautions to keep yourself safe — and consider evacuating if you have the opportunity.