Flash Floods in New Jersey and NYC Reveal Climate Crisis in Real Time
The scenes we witnessed across New York City and parts of New Jersey on Monday night were not just alarming — they were a stark reminder that climate change is no longer a distant threat. It's here, it's happening, and it’s hitting hard.
Torrential rain pounded the Northeast, with New York City recording its second-highest one-hour rainfall since 1943 — a staggering 2.07 inches in just 60 minutes at Central Park. To put that into perspective, that’s classified as a 1-in-20-year event , meaning there’s only a 5% chance it would occur in any given year. Yet here we are, and the frequency of these so-called "rare" events is increasing at an alarming rate.
Over in New Jersey, things were just as dire. Between one to five inches of rain soaked communities from Plainfield to central parts of the state. In Plainfield, a tragic moment unfolded when two people lost their lives after their car was swept away by floodwaters from the overwhelmed Cedar Brook river. It’s a heartbreaking reality, one that’s becoming too familiar.
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Subway systems were inundated — video footage showed water gushing down stairwells and pouring directly into train cars . At the No. 1 subway line in Manhattan, riders had to climb onto seats as water surged in. MTA officials described how storm drains and city sewer systems simply couldn't keep up , overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water in such a short span.
The science behind this is no mystery. According to the Fifth National Climate Assessment , the Northeast has experienced a 60% increase in extreme precipitation events over recent decades. These aren't just isolated incidents — they’re the new pattern, driven by global warming and human-induced climate change. As warmer air holds more moisture, we get heavier downpours, and infrastructure that was built for a different era simply can’t cope.
And it's not just about inconvenience or damage to transit systems. Lives are being lost , homes are being damaged, and communities are being repeatedly pushed to their limits. The flood on Monday was worsened by outdated sewer systems and drainage capacity that clearly isn’t designed for this new climate reality.
Despite these challenges, agencies like the MTA worked overnight to restore service by Tuesday morning — a commendable effort. But response efforts, no matter how quick, are not enough on their own. What we need is resilience. We need bold investments in infrastructure, smarter urban planning, and real climate action .
This flood wasn't an outlier. It’s a sign of what’s to come. And unless we treat it like the crisis it is, we’re going to see more subway floods, more closed highways, more fatalities — and more devastation in places that thought they were safe.
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