NYC floods kill owner trying to save dogs, man fixing boiler as Big Apple rocked by ferocious rainstorm

"The FDNY scuba team was dispatched to the first flood at a home on Kingston Avenue near Rutland Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn shortly after 4 p.m., police said. Inside the flooded basement, firefighters found a man who sources said had made it out of his home, but rushed back inside to save his dogs. Video captured by a passerby showed the FDNY and members of the scuba team carrying the victim's limp body out of the apartment building."

"Meanwhile, about 30 minutes later in Washington Heights, a 43-year-old man was also found unresponsive inside a flooded boiler room on West 175th Street in Washington Heights shortly after 4:30 p.m., police said. The man was pulled from the basement, but emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene, police said. Sources told The Post that the victim was working on the boiler during the flood and that preliminary reports indicate he was electrocuted."

"An inch of rain fell in just 10 minutes in parts of the five boroughs, creating havoc and overwhelming parts of the city's infrastructure with little warning. The Office of Emergency Management issued a flash flooding warning for Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan at 4:16 p.m. OEM had advised people to avoid places "where water covers the roadway" and to "move to higher ground, or, if in a basement, move to a higher floor.""

Torrential rain caused flash flooding across New York City, with an inch falling in 10 minutes in some areas. In Flatbush, Brooklyn, firefighters and the FDNY scuba team found a man who had exited his home but returned to the flooded basement to rescue his dogs; responders carried his limp body from the apartment and he was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital. In Washington Heights, a 43-year-old man was found unresponsive in a flooded boiler room and was pronounced dead at the scene; preliminary reports indicate electrocution while working on the boiler. Emergency officials issued flash flood warnings and advised moving to higher ground.

Read at New York Post