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Flash floods swamp New York sparking travel chaos hours before World Cup final

Parts of the city were left underwater as cars and streets were submerged and water poured into the subway

[A fire truck ploughs through the water to rescue drivers stranded on the hood of a truck]

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A fire truck ploughs through the water to rescue drivers stranded on the hood of a truck(Image: @ABC7NY)

New York has been hit by severe flash flooding with cars and streets swamped and water pouring into the city's subway just hours before the World Cup Final.

Social media footage captured the scale of the disruption, with commuters and drivers documenting severe conditions across the boroughs.

"People are literally swimming," one woman can be heard saying in a video posted by Instagram account @subwaycreatures. In another video, posted by creator Taylor Prokes, people can be seen treading through a city neighbourhood with rubbish bags over their legs and water reaching their knees.

The extreme weather sparked travel chaos on Saturday (July 18) after water flowed into subway stations and traffic was brought to a standstill with lanes submerged.

[New York has been hit by severe flash flooding ]

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New York has been hit by severe flash flooding (Image: CitizenAppNYC/X)

All lanes of the Long Island Expressway at 188th Street were temporarily blocked in both directions, while flooding also forced closures on the Clearview Expressway at Northern Boulevard, CNN reported. On a roadway above the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, multiple vehicles were left entirely submerged, forcing some people to wade through waist-high water.

Flooding also caused severe delays at airports including, John F. Kennedy International, with some cancellations reported.

[New York City roads were submerged by flood waters]

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New York City roads were submerged by flood waters

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported major service disruptions across the subway network as a result of the runoff pouring onto the tracks.

Former England goalkeeper Joe Heart shared a video of himself walking barefoot through the flooded streets amid the rain storm. "Shoes are off, trainers are ruined", he said in the post on Instagram.

[Joe Hart was soaked by the huge downpour]

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Joe Hart was soaked by the huge downpour(Image: @Joehartofficial/Instagram)

Spain take on Argentina in the World Cup Final tonight with kick-off at 8am UK time. The bad weather has disrupted the preparations of both teams.

Argentina were due to take to the practice field at the Red Bulls Performance Center in Morristown, New Jersey at 11.30am local time yesterday (Saturday). A major thunderstorm hit the area just before their scheduled start time and delayed their training by 45 minutes.

They did eventually get out on the pitch, while Spain were unable to altogether.

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