Flooding snarls Northeast travel

By David Shepardson

United Airlines on Thursday suspended operations at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty airport, while U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak canceled trains between Philadelphia and Boston due to severe weather and floods in the Northeast.

United, the largest carrier at the New York City-area airport, said it expected to resume flights by Thursday afternoon. FlightAware, an aviation tracking site, reported 190 canceled departing Newark flights and 182 arriving flights.

Flooding killed at least nine people, swept away cars, and submerged New York City subway lines as the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought torrential rains to the area.

Flooding halted traffic on some major roads and highways in Northeastern states. The New York State Police said traffic was diverted because of flooding on some highways and exit ramps; flooding also hit major Philadelphia-area roads.

Amtrak said all service between Philadelphia and Boston with an initial departure before 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday had been canceled, while some Acela high-speed service between Washington and Wilmington, Delaware, will be offered before 12 p.m.

The railroad said Northeast regional service between Washington and Philadelphia departing before noon had been canceled, while Empire Service was canceled on Thursday between Albany and New York City.

In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees subway, bus and commuter rail, said “service across our system is extremely limited as we work to recover from last night’s heavy rainfall and flooding.”

Reuters