Record-setting thunderstorms deluge Northeast, flooding train and commuter tracks and stranding hundreds in their cars and homes.
Torrential rain unleashed massive flooding in New York's Hudson Valley, where one woman drowned as she was swept away with her dog and roadways turned to rivers in record-setting downpours.
More storms battered the Northeast Monday with 14 million people under flood alerts from New York to Maine.
A 35-year-old died Sunday as she tried to get to higher ground with her pup in Orange County, New York officials said.
"Last night was complete chaos," Orange County Executive Steve Neuhas said on "Good Morning America" Monday.
More than eight inches fell in parts of the Hudson Valley, more than the area typically receives in an entire summer.
West Point Military Academy recorded nearly seven inches of rain in three hours, a 1-in-1,000-year accumulation, weather officials said. Drivers in their stranded cars were forced to swim to safety in chest-high water.
Gov. Kathy Hochul issued states of emergency in two counties Sunday night. “The amount of water is extraordinary,” she said.
Vermont authorities warned of "life-threatening" flood waters Monday and urged residents to stay home.
New York's governor praised first-responders who rushed to help residents stuck in their homes during the brunt of Sunday's deluge.
"We deployed more than 1,000 emergency workers to assist local governments,” she tweeted. New York State Police pulled people from stuck vehicles and evacuated more than 200 stranded train passengers in Putnam County after tracks were buried in rushing waters and debris.
Amtrak tracks between New York City and Poughkeepsie were washed out Sunday evening. A New York City-bound train was stopped at the Poughkeepsie station and forced to travel in reverse to the upstate Rhinecliff station, authorities said.
It was unclear when the train tracks would become passable.
Portions of the Metro-North commuter train lines remained closed Monday after sections were covered by rushing water.
New York's governor warned residents to stay vigilant Monday, saying climate changes has unleashed catastrophic circumstances.
“These are unprecedented weather events that keep hitting us over and over again, so we must change our behavior as a planet, as a country, as a state and in our own homes,” Hochul said.
