New York City mayor declares state of emergency after record-breaking rain

Nearly all New York City subway lines were suspended late on Wednesday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida brought drenching rain and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes to parts of the northern mid-Atlantic, CNN reported earlier.

All non-emergency vehicles were banned from New York City's streets until 5 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Thursday due to the weather, city authorities said on Twitter.

Videos posted online showed subway riders standing on seats in cars filled with water.

Other videos showed vehicles submerged up to their windows on major roadways in and around the city and garbage bobbing down the streets.

The National Weather Service office in New York declared its first-ever set of flash flood emergencies in the region Wednesday night, an alert level that is reserved for “exceedingly rare situations when a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from a flash flood is happening or will happen soon.”