NEW YORK – On Thursday, July 31, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul proclaimed a state of emergency for New York City and many other counties because of significant flash floods that hit areas of the city, especially Queens. Heavy rain that lasted all night and into the next day caused a lot of waterlogging, which made mobility very difficult and forced homeowners to get urgent warnings.
There were shocking footage and pictures on social media of a few cars entirely underwater on parts of the Clearview Expressway near Northern Boulevard in Queens. The New York Police Department said that the route was closed in both directions because of the heavy flooding. Reports say that some parts of the road had as much as seven feet of water, and emergency personnel were spotted rescuing drivers from cars that had become stuck.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) sent out a flood watch advisory, telling those who use public transportation to be careful and give themselves more time to get to their destinations. The flooding caused major delays and modifications to service on several subway lines (A, B, C, D, E, and F) and had an effect on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). One train was stopped near Jamaica Station, leaving 100 people stranded until firefighters could get them out. People who ride the train shared videos of water gushing into train stations and collecting on the floors of buses.
Mayor Eric Adams agreed with Governor Hochul’s request for a state of emergency and wrote on X (previously Twitter), “Stay where you are if you can.” Don’t drive. Roads are flooding, and crews are working on it. “Move now if you live in a basement apartment and haven’t yet moved to higher ground.” The National Weather Service (NWS) said that there would be one to three inches of rain, with some locations getting as much as five inches, and that the rain would fall at a rate of one to two inches per hour.
Governor Hochul said in a news statement that state agencies were ready to deal with the heavy rain and isolated floods. They were keeping an eye on the situation in real time to make sure all New Yorkers were safe. The emergency state includes the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, and Delaware, as well as areas nearby. The declaration lets officials skip the red tape to give help, send resources for rescue and evacuation, and maybe even ask the federal government for help.
People in Queens communities like Flushing, Bayside, and Little Neck said their basements and garages were flooded. Roads were closed and public transportation was disrupted. There were also a lot of flight delays and cancellations at airports in the New York City area. Some locations saw the water go down and the roads reopen later on Thursday, but officials still told people to be careful and watch out, because the bad weather was forecast to deliver additional heavy rain into Friday morning.