2 die in flooded New York City basements during heavy rainstorm

NEW YORK AP Two people died in flooded New York City basements Thursday during a rainstorm that shut down roadways and caused airport delays bureaucrats mentioned A scuba group recovered the body of a -year-old man after firefighters received a call of a person trapped in the flooded basement of a three-story townhouse in Brooklyn at about p m police noted A video posted online indicated firefighters carrying the victim away through calf-deep water on the street In Manhattan a -year-old man was identified dead inside the flooded basement boiler room of an apartment building police commented The cause of death was under probe Several spots around the city saw record rainfall Preliminary reports manifested inch centimeters of rain fell in Central Park on Thursday which would surpass the record of inches centimeters set for the park in the National Weather Utility revealed LaGuardia Airport recorded inch centimeters of rain which would break the record of inches centimeters for that airport New York saw hours of rainfall of varying intensity Thursday leading into the evening commute Photos and video on social media established water rising to the bumpers of cars and pouring into subway stations When you look at the amount of water that was coming down our sewer systems are just not built to handle that It was a steady rain throughout Mayor Eric Adams recounted radio station WINS Street flooding was highly localized turning particular intersections with clogged drains into pools deep enough to float cars while leaving the next blocks with only modest puddles Falling tree limbs damaged vehicles in particular neighborhoods Administration didn t forthwith release the names of the two men who died The man who died in Brooklyn had entered the flooded basement of his building while trying to rescue one of his dogs a neighbor Ren e Phillips described The New York Times The hazards that flash flooding can pose to residents of the city s thousands of basement apartments came into sharp relief in when heavy rainfall killed people in such dwellings