Heavy rain in New York City

One of New York's wettest days in decades left the metropolitan area swamped on Friday after heavy rainfall knocked out several subway and commuter rail lines, stranded drivers on highways, flooded basements and shuttered an airport terminal for hours.

John F Kennedy Airport was drenched by 220 millimetres of rain by Friday evening (local time), surpassing the record for any September day set during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the National Weather Service said.