New York has issued a state of emergency for the Hudson Valley region of Orange County after eight inches of rain fell in three hours on Sunday night, causing a “1,000-year flood event.”
Orange County executive Steven Neuhaus told ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday that a woman died while fleeing her flooded home with her dog on Sunday night after losing her footing among “tidal wave-like waves” and being thrown into a ravine. He stated that the floods had pushed big rocks into the woman’s home.
Several others in the area were reported missing after flooding washed out major stretches of roads and rendered others impassable. A number of bridges “collapsed,” according to state police.
Travellers were warned to avoid the highways as water swallowed homes and cars, leaving hundreds without power. One house was “literally swept away,” according to Governor Kathy Hochul.
Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam Counties also received six to ten inches of rain. A stretch of State Route 218 from Cornwall to West Point, home of the eponymous military institution, was reported to be “gone,” as were numerous other road closures.
Social media photos and videos showed chasms springing up in the centre of a roadway and automobiles straining to pass through surging waters.
