the end of the world, or, just another new york wednesday

The extremely scary and loud thunder that woke me up in the wee hours this morning was apparently a bad sign. Trees were uprooted all over Brooklyn by a severe thunderstorm, and most subway lines closed completely today due to track flooding. The MTA, in its infinite wisdom and preparedness, advised people to "stay home," and did not update their website once between about 9:30 am and 11:30 am. Oh, and their site was down for much of that time, too.

Is this kind of like what the next terrorist attack is going to feel like? I just hope it isn't 90 and humid when that happens (or when it rains again and the entire fucking city shuts down).

All the chaos this morning brings up a few points:

• New York City infrastructure is totally decrepit and will only get older and worse. Meanwhile, the city is growing. MTA = Malthusian Transportation Apocalypse.
• If Manhattan ever has to be evacuated for any reason whatsoever, we're fucked.
• It no longer rains normally. Every storm event makes headlines.

New York City Transit System is Crippled by Flooding [NYT]