Wednesday's heavy downpours brought more rain than NYC sewer system is designed to handle

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]And residents across Brooklyn and Queens are cleaning up the mess left behind from flooded streets and tallying the cost of the damage to their homes and cars.

[00:00:09]>> Trees toppled over, thousands lost power, and some streets were flooded as heavy rain and gusty winds moved through the tri-state area. City officials say some of the heaviest downpours overwhelmed the system with rain falling at a rate equivalent of 6 inches an hour in some areas, far more than the city's sewer system was designed to handle. We have team coverage. Lonnie Quinn is in our immersive studio with rainfall totals and also a look ahead at the Memorial Day weekend. But we begin with Lisa Rosner in Hollis, Queens, where the mayor met with residents impacted by the flooding.

[00:00:43]The residents here are still trying to recover. We're talking about cars submerged underwater, down trees, and sewage that spilled out onto the street.

[00:00:54]You can see there's still mud here on this road. And behind, you can see this family has had to throw out everything that was in their basement. The city's drainage system is only built to handle 2 inches an hour. People are overwhelmed, and the mayor asked them to go to reportdamage.nyc.gov.

[00:01:16]He also claims if residents call 311 about things like basement flooding, street flooding, or sewer backup, the city would try to send help. One woman who lives here told the mayor she has had the same experience for 34 years. We spoke to a family whose cat died in last night's storm, and we're also here for a very similar flood in 2021, which claimed the lives of their two neighbors. I told them my say they give me heart. He say sorry for lose, yeah.

[00:01:49]>> By the time the water comes in so fast, there's not enough time to actually do anything. So, we really want to see it get fixed.

[00:01:56]>> What needs to happen is you got to raise these roads, which is complicated because if you raise the road, you got to raise the homes. Families here are now fearful of the summer because of the storms that come with it. And as you heard, these families want to see solutions as soon as possible. In Hollis, Queens, Lisa Rozner, CBS News, New York.