Water main break floods homes and brings down brick wall in Morris Heights
NEW YORK -- An alleyway in the Bronx was inundated by water, following a water main break on Tuesday morning.
A chaotic cleanup lies ahead for people in Morris Heights.
There was a cacophony of noise as workers first drilled and then pumped as they repaired the break near University Avenue and Macombs Road that jolted neighbors awake at around 5 a.m.
"I just heard a loud noise. That's when I realized something was going on. I went outside and I saw my neighbors running. 'The water, the water!'" witness William Lopez said.
At first, families thought the flooding was constrained to the immediate intersection, but within the hour, their back alley turned into a pond.
"I went to the basement to turn everything electrical off. The water was pouring in already. It was up to my knee and a few seconds later it was half of my body," Lopez said.
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The sheer force of the water knocked down a brick wall, tore out doors, and flooded the basement of an apartment located more than half a block away from where the water main broke.
"The wall is on top of my car and it's just submerged," Tracy Coles said.
Coles was trying to keep it together after finding her brand new 2023 Toyota Highlander totaled.
"I got a parking space because when I park on the street I always get hit. So I put it back here so it can be safe and now this happens," she said.
The city Department of Environmental Protection spent all morning excavating the road, trying to pinpoint the source of the leak.
"In my building, there is no water or elevator because a pipe burst," nearby resident Maria Asencion said.
Neighbors were forced to haul bottles and jugs up their stairs as they braced for a messy cleanup once service is finally restored.
