Video Shows Inside of Bus Flooded As Heavy Rain Drenches New York City

Heavy rain caused significant transportation delays in New York City on Friday as roads, subway stations and even operating buses were flooded.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New York City as the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings. Some of these areas received as much as three inches of rain Thursday night and were expected to receive at least three to five more inches of rain through Friday night, according to Hochul's office.

Hochul urged New Yorkers "to pay close attention to the storm conditions and forecast if you're heading out today."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams also issued a state of emergency on Friday and a travel advisory that was to remain in effect until 6 a.m. on Saturday.

"Today's weather isn't done with us yet. We might see up to eight inches of rain by tomorrow morning," Adams said in a thread on X, formerly Twitter. "Many roadways are flooded. Avoid driving. Never drive into flood waters. Subways and buses are significantly impacted."

City transportation officials were providing updates throughout the day on subway service suspensions as floodwater impacted stations throughout New York City. Officials urged people in the area to "stay home if you don't need to travel."

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) CEO Janno Lieber described Friday as a "tough travel day" during a midday press conference with other city leaders. He noted the city had a "full bus system operation" to provide New Yorkers with a subway alternative. An estimated 3,500 buses were in operation, which Lieber said was "especially important" to "get kids home from school."

Many of those who did brave the storm shared photos and videos of their experiences on social media.

In one video shared on X by @NYScanner, water flooded a bus as it carried travelers through flooded streets in Brooklyn. The people inside were trying to keep their legs and feet up as the water level reached just beneath the bottoms of their seats.

A 30-second compilation video shared by AccuWeather on X showed another bus impacted by flooding in Brooklyn.

A second video shared by @NYScanner showed a black trash can floating down a street in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood as vehicles tried to navigate the floodwater. Water could also be seen rushing down the steps at one building to reach a lower floor.

The MTA said it activated a situation room on Thursday to monitor weather developments and decide how to deploy resources. The MTA anticipated that floodwater would impact New York City subways and planned to have employees "minimize impacts to service by responding and removing water quickly when it does infiltrate the system," according to a Thursday MTA advisory.

For buses, the MTA said it would have detours ready for buses with routes expected to be impacted by flooding.

Newsweek reached out to the MTA through the public transit corporation's online submission form on Friday for comment.