New York in state of emergency after floods trigger havoc

New York City metropolitan region was o Wednesday night struck by an unexpected flooding after the leftovers of Hurricane Ida swamped subways, highways, and houses throughout the city and beyond. Flooding inundated numerous sections of the city, Long Island, and New Jersey across the Hudson. 

Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency and requested federal assistance for what seems to be the city's greatest natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a state of emergency in response to "an unprecedented weather catastrophe" that dumped "record breaking rain" and "severe floods" on the city. Taking to the micro-blogging site, he said: "Tonight, I'm announcing a state of emergency in New York City. We're experiencing a historic weather event tonight, with record-breaking rain across the city, severe flooding, and hazardous traffic conditions."

The National Weather Service reported 3.15 inches of rain in one hour in New York's Central Park, greatly above the 1.94 inches that dropped in one hour during Tropical Storm Henri on the night of Aug. 22, which was thought to be the most ever recorded in the park at the time.

Let's take a look at social media videos which showed water spilling out of the New York City subway and city streets.

• New York
• State of emergency
• Hurricane Ida