Heavy rains pummel New York city and suburbs, flooding subway and highways

Heavy rain pummeled New York City and its suburbs on Monday night, flooding parts of the subway system, inundating major roads and causing long flight delays.

The slow-moving storm drenched large swathes of the Mid-Atlantic, causing flash floods from central Virginia to New York City. Floodwaters gushed through subway stations, in some cases entering train cars. Partially submerged vehicles lost control on inundated streets. Muddy storm water thrashed fuel pumps at a gas station.

Some areas received up to seven inches of rain, said Joe Wegman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. By late Monday, the storm’s front was ‘rapidly weakening,’ he added. Though some rainfall was expected, it would not be ‘nearly as bad’ as the downpours on Monday in New York City and its surrounds, Mr. Wegman said.

Earlier on Monday night, the Weather Service had issued flash flood warnings for all five boroughs of New York, and the city’s emergency management department told people who live in basement apartments or low-lying areas to be ready to move to higher ground. Nearly 1,000 people were affected by a power outage in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens, which is serviced by overhead lines, according to NYC Emergency Management.

In Manhattan, service on the 1, 2 and 3 subway lines was restored after being suspended because of flooding in multiple subway stations, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said shortly before 11 p.m. The Staten Island Railway also resumed operations in both directions, the M.T.A. said.

The M.T.A. warned of delays and possible suspensions on the Harlem and New Haven train lines in and out of Grand Central Station.

Multiple bus routes operated by NJ Transit between New York and New Jersey were rerouted. Rail service between Penn Station in New York and Trenton, N.J. was running on schedule again, according to NJ Transit.

Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey declared a state of emergency after the heavy rainfall set off flooding in parts of the state. Videos on social media showed heavy flooding in New Providence, N.J., in Union County, about 25 miles west of New York City. Kelly Martins, a county spokeswoman, said that portions of major highways were closed and that water rescue operations were ongoing, though no fatalities had been reported.

The Weather Service placed parts of central New Jersey and central and southeastern Pennsylvania under a flash flood warning until early Tuesday morning.

The mayor of Plainfield, N.J., in Middlesex County said that the city’s train station, which serves a Manhattan-bound line, was completely flooded and impassable. Saddle River in northeastern Bergen County, which borders New York, was on flood watch until Tuesday afternoon.

In Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, emergency workers in Mount Joy made 16 water rescues and responded to more than 30 requests for assistance from people with flooded basements, said Philip Colvin, coordinator for the borough’s emergency management’s team.

More than seven inches of rain fell in one area in less than five hours, Mr. Colvin said, overwhelming storm drains and flooding some homes, particularly on the west side of town.

The New York State Police said the Taconic State Parkway flooded, forcing the authorities to close the roadway in both directions in Mount Pleasant. The Sprain Brook Parkway was also closed in both directions in Mount Pleasant because of flooding.

Air travel was disrupted as well on Monday night, with Kennedy International Airport reporting delays of more than three hours on departing flights, and Newark Liberty International Airport reporting departure delays of up to two hours, according to the tracking website FlightAware.

-Agencies