At Least 1 Dead, Main Roads Flooded: Forest Hills Storm Recap

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Darlene Hsu, 48, died in her Forest Hills apartment Wednesday night when water flooded into her apartment, trapping her inside.

Wednesday's storm, which prompted the National Weather Service to issue its first-ever flash flood emergency for New York City, caused devastating flooding across Queens that proved fatal in Forest Hills and many other of the borough's neighborhoods. Of the 13 New Yorkers who were killed in the floods, all but two lived in Queens, according to city records as of Thursday evening.

In addition to the loss of life, the storm, which was a remnant of Hurricane Ida, flooded Forest Hills’ roadways, all-but turning them into rivers, videos show.

Grand Central Parkway, where the deceased woman’s apartment building is located, shut down Wednesday night after major flooding, prompting drivers to abandon their cars along the parkway, videos show.

Sections of Queens Boulevard, which stretches from northwest Queens to Jamaica through Forest Hills, were flooded to the point of oceanlike conditions, videos show, prompting dozens of people to abandon their cars on the street.

Austin Street, another neighborhood thoroughfare, was also covered in enough water to carry bags of floating trash down the street, according to one video.

Local Facebook groups showed basements and apartments across the neighborhood filled with feet of water. In one apartment building, the water reached up to the first floor, a video shows.

The storm’s significant impact in Queens, especially in southeast parts of the borough, prompted local officials to call for more investment in southeast Queens’ infrastructure, and address climate change.

"We cannot wait until tomorrow, we need [infrastructure investment] today,” said Borough President Donovan Richards at a news conference Thursday morning on 183 Street in Jamaica, where a mother and son died Wednesday night after their home flooded, reports show.

“Unfortunately if we do not address climate change we will continue to lose lives," Richards added.

Critics, however, pushed back, at the news conference suggesting that local officials could have done more to alert New Yorkers about the storm and ensure their safety.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who stood by his administration’s response, admitted that the city's weather predictions were "made a mockery of in a matter of minutes” and warned New Yorkers to assume the worst going forwards.

"From now on what I think we do is tell New Yorkers to expect the very, very worst. It may sound alarmist at times, but unfortunately, it's being proven by nature,” he said.

Related Articles:

• Forest Hills Woman Among At Least 13 Dead In NYC After Major Flood
• 'We Need It Today:' Queens Leaders Demand Help After Major Storm