By Laura Sanicola and Muyu Xu

(Reuters) -Oil edged lower on Wednesday ahead of a panel meeting of OPEC+ ministers, as the market weighed expectations of supply tightness against fears that high interest rates could reduce fuel demand.

Brent crude oil futures dipped 6 cents to $90.86 a barrel by 0345 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), fell 5 cents to $89.18 per barrel.

Data on Tuesday night showed that U.S. job openings increased by the largest amount in more than two years, prompting a further sharp rise in Treasury yields.

Along with fears that interest rates will stay high for some time, oil benchmarks also have been pressured by concerns that the strengthening dollar would dent demand, as it makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

“A resilient labour market is deemed to be providing more room for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to keep rates high for longer,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, or OPEC+, is expected to keep output policy unchanged when it meets on Wednesday, after members Saudi Arabia and Russia extended output cuts to the end of the year.

Saudi Arabia is expected to raise its November official selling price of Arab Light crude to Asia for a fifth straight month, according to a Reuters survey, as market participants expect supplies of medium sour crude to remain tight.

“The recent oil price reversal could be a reason for the cartel to keep their supply cuts unchanged in today’s review meeting,” said ANZ Bank’s analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes in a note.

Meanwhile, talks to restart Iraqi oil exports via a crude oil pipeline that runs through Turkey are still ongoing, an Iraqi oil official told Reuters, one day after Turkey said operations would start again this week following a near six-month stoppage.

Russia is setting no time frame for a fuel export ban it introduced last month, and which will remain in place as long as necessary to stabilize prices and address shortages on the domestic market, Interfax cited Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying.

Investors are also closely watching supply and demand in the United States. Industry data showed crude stocks fell by about 4.2 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 29, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. [API/S]

U.S. government data on stockpiles is due on Wednesday. Eight analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 500,000 barrels in the week to Sept. 29. [EIA/S]

(Reporting by Laura Sanicola and Muyu Xu. Editing by Gerry Doyle and Kim Coghill)

Tesla Dominance Threatened as BYD EV Sales Explode

Tesla’s dominance in the sale of electric cars is under immense pressure more than ever. While the US EV giant has dominated the sector for years, competition is slowly catching up as cheaper alternatives hit the market. Chinese EV giant BYD Co appears to have everything going for it in the race to topple the US automaker.

BYD vs. Tesla EV Sales

The Chinese electric car giant came to a whisker from toppling Tesla in the third quarter on selling 431,603 fully electric cars. The sales represented a 23% increase from the second quarter. In contrast, Tesla shipped 435,059 electric cars, signalling the narrowing of the gap between the two companies.

The impressive numbers posted by the Chinese automaker came on pushing into new markets and wooing customers with more affordable electric vehicles than Tesla.  The Shenzhen-based automaker sold 822,094 vehicles, including hybrids, propelling it to another record quarter, which affirms its status as China’s best selling automaker.

On the other hand, Tesla struggled with factory downtime in the quarter, which triggered the first quarterly delivery decline in nearly a year.  The company missed deliveries by about 20,000 units, hurt by a move to take some factories offline to make them more adaptable for a refreshed Model 3 sedan. The US automaker is also preparing the factories to accelerate production of the yet-to-be-released Cybertruck.

The premium price that the US automaker charges for its EV models might also have a hand in limiting the amount of cars it could sell compared to the run rate at BYD. Nevertheless, CEO Elon Musk insists the company is on track to deliver over 1.8 million vehicles by year-end. On the other hand, BYD is targeting 3 million cars, including hybrids.

EU Tariffs on China EVs

While BYD has made a name for itself in selling affordable electric cars to the masses, the company is also increasingly encroaching into the higher-end markets. The company has already unveiled two luxury EV brands as it looks to enjoy the bumper profit margins that Tesla enjoys on selling premium EVs. Yangwang and Fang Cheng Bao are the two models that the Chinese EV company hopes to use to penetrate the $137,000 price category.

In addition, the Chinese automaker has also set sights on the international market as it looks to explore new revenue opportunities beyond China.  It has also started to make its own batteries and semiconductor chips as it looks to keep production costs lower to have a better chance of a large chunk of the overseas sale market.

The biggest headwind standing in the way of BYD conquering the international market is heightened regulatory scrutiny. Regulators have already set sights on the company and Tesla over Chinese subsidies on EVs. The regulators insist the subsidies offer the two automakers a competitive advantage against European automakers.

European officials are concerned that an influx of Chinese electric vehicles into the block would threaten millions of auto jobs; consequently, the officials have launched an investigation into China’s support for the EV industry to counter them to protect the region’s auto industry.  There are suggestions that the EU could end up imposing tariffs on Chinese EV imports, something that could also affect Tesla, which produces most of its cars in China.

By Laura Sanicola

(Reuters) – Oil rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday, supported by tightening global crude supply ahead of a panel meeting of OPEC+ ministers.

Brent crude oil futures rose 6 cents to $90.98 a barrel by 0004 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), rose 11 cents to $89.34 per barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, or OPEC+, is expected to keep output policy unchanged when it meets on Wednesday, after members Saudi Arabia and Russia extended output cuts to the end of the year.

Saudi Arabia is expected to raise its November official selling price of Arab Light crude to Asia for a fifth straight month, according to a Reuters survey.

Russia is setting no time frame for a fuel export ban it introduced last month, and which will remain in place as long as necessary to stabilize prices and address shortages on the domestic market, Interfax cited Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying.

In U.S. supply, industry data showed crude stocks fell by about 4.2 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 29, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. [API/S]

U.S. government data on stockpiles is due on Wednesday. Eight analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 500,000 barrels in the week to Sept. 29. [EIA/S]

Prices have been pressured in recent days by the strength of the U.S. dollar , which rose to a 10-month high against a basket of major peers on Tuesday after U.S. job openings data pointed to a still-tight labour market that could prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month.

Higher interest rates and a stronger dollar make oil more expensive for holders of other currencies, which could dampen oil demand.

Investors are also eyeing political turmoil in Washington Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday ousted their leader for the first time in history, as party infighting plunged Congress into further chaos just days after it narrowly averted a government shutdown.

(Reporting by Laura Sanicola. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 index closed at its lowest level since June 1 on Tuesday as economic data underscored the view the Federal Reserve may need to keep interest rates high.

The Dow turned negative for the year for the first time since June and ended at its lowest level since May 31. The Nasdaq also closed at its lowest since May 31.

Data showed U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in August, fueling worries about a tight labor market ahead of Friday’s key U.S. monthly jobs report.

Investors continue to closely watch benchmark Treasury yields, which hit 16-year highs on Tuesday.

“The scenario that most investors were assuming is the Fed would need to ultimately cut short-term rates, and we would return to a favorable interest rate environment,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.

“But investors are seeing a different scenario now – higher rates for longer.”

Higher borrowing costs are a negative for businesses and consumers.

All but one S&P 500 sector – utilities – were lower on the day, led by declines in consumer discretionary and technology. Growth companies tend to be among the hardest hit by rising yields.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 430.97 points, or 1.29%, to 33,002.38, the S&P 500 lost 58.94 points, or 1.37%, at 4,229.45 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 248.31 points, or 1.87%, to 13,059.47.

The CBOE volatility index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” hit its highest close since May 24.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said there is no urgency for the central bank to raise its policy rate again, but it will likely be “a long time” before rate cuts are appropriate. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she is open to raising rates again, potentially at the bank’s next meeting.

Shares of Amazon.com and Microsoft dropped after Reuters reported British media regulator Ofcom will push for an antitrust investigation into the companies’ dominance of the UK cloud computing market.

Investors are getting ready for U.S. companies in the coming weeks to begin reporting on the last quarter, with some hoping the results could provide some positive news again for the market.

While the Dow is down 0.4% for the year, the Nasdaq remains up about 25% since Dec. 31 after a rally driven by enthusiasm over artificial intelligence.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.16 billion shares, compared with the 10.57 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 5.61-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.52-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and 63 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 15 new highs and 439 new lows.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Maju Samuel and Richard Chang)

By Nathan Gomes

(Reuters) -Top global automakers on Tuesday reported a rise in U.S. new vehicle sales for the third quarter, buoyed by resilient demand for latest models and improved supplies.

General Motors extended a strong year as it posted an about 21% rise in U.S. sales to 674,336 vehicles, benefiting from demand for its pickup trucks, affordable crossover SUVs and electric vehicles.

EV sales jumped 28% in the third quarter from the preceding quarter, the company said.

Overall, U.S. new vehicle sales in September were 1.33 million units, with an annual sales rate of 15.67 million units, according to data released by Wards Intelligence on Tuesday.

The robust performance comes against the backdrop of the ongoing coordinated strike from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union against the Detroit Three automakers that has sparked concerns over supply disruptions in the current quarter.

Sales in September also benefited from inventory that was built up in anticipation of the strike.

GM said on Tuesday it had 442,586 vehicles in inventory. While it did not address the impact of the strike, a 40-day UAW walkout in 2019 led to a 6% fall in sales in the fourth quarter of that year and cost the automaker $3.6 billion.

Rival Ford Motor is expected to report U.S. auto sales on Wednesday, while Stellantis’ unit FCA U.S. reported a 1.3% fall for the third quarter to 380,563 units.

Meanwhile, Asian brands posted strong gains in the quarter. Toyota Motor posted a 12.2% rise in third-quarter U.S. sales. Kia and Hyundai also posted higher sales for the period.

Hyundai is offering incentives on its EVs to overcome the disadvantage of not qualifying for the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, the company told Reuters on Tuesday.

However, the South Korea-based automaker said rising interest rates “make it very, very challenging for consumers to purchase a vehicle.”

EV leader Tesla on Monday missed market estimates for third-quarter deliveries due to planned factory upgrades.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru, Joseph White in Detroit; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Maju Samuel)

By Valerie Insinna and Rajesh Kumar Singh

(Reuters) -United Airlines on Tuesday announced an order for 110 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus for delivery beginning in 2028 as it seeks to expand its international network.

The Chicago-based carrier said its order is also intended to mitigate the persistent supply-chain logjam that has delayed aircraft deliveries as well as infrastructure bottlenecks that have forced it to cut its flights.

United will convert previous options and purchase rights into firm orders for 50 Boeing 787-9s for delivery between 2028 through 2031 and 60 Airbus A321neos for delivery between 2028 and 2030, it said, confirming details Reuters first reported earlier on Tuesday.

It has also secured new options for up to 50 more 787s and purchase rights for an additional 40 A321neo aircraft at the end of the decade.

Orders for long-distance widebody jets rebounded to meet international travel demands. Air Canada last month purchased 18 Dreamliners and Air France-KLM ordered 50 Airbus A350s. Since the pandemic, there has also been a rise in demand for narrowbody jets, especially larger models such as the A321, which has dominated the single-aisle market.

Among U.S. airlines, higher-margin international travel is the most important to United, accounting for about 39% of its passenger revenue this year – up from before the pandemic.

United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said the company expects a disproportionate part of its growth in the second half of this decade to come from global long-haul flying.

“In the future, United will increasingly turn to global growth to expand,” he told reporters on a conference call.

The latest order is the second major aircraft purchase by United over the past year. It unveiled a huge order of 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 100 737 MAXs in December.

“United’s unprecedented commitment to the 787 Dreamliner family is a testament to the market-leading operating economics and reliability of Boeing’s widebody jets,” said Stan Deal, head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said the A321’s fuel efficiency, smaller carbon footprint and lower maintenance and operating costs will be a “game changer” for United.

BACKLOGS

Carriers have been placing orders with urgency as Boeing and Airbus backlogs have grown and as jet deliveries have been pushed out toward the end of the decade.

Nocella called the situation “a bit frustrating” as the planes ordered by the company are “significantly” behind schedule.

Meanwhile, limitations on runways, airspace and gate capacity at the nation’s largest airports have compelled airlines to cut departures.

United aims to get around the problem by flying larger planes with more seats. It expects average seats per departure in North America to increase by 40% in 2027 from the pre-pandemic period.

The large 787 order is likely to raise further questions about the future of outstanding United orders for 45 Airbus A350s which have already been deferred to at least 2030.

Nocella said that while the A350 is a “great machine” and there is no change in the company’s order, United is focused on its 787 fleet in the short run. It plans to deploy the 787 jets on the routes that Boeing’s 767 is flying today, he said.

“It’s doing great for United around the globe,” he said.

The latest order comes at a time when weakening pricing power in the U.S. market has sparked concerns about the strength of travel demand. Analysts are not sure consumers will continue to splurge on travel if the economy slips into a recession.

Nocella downplayed those concerns.

“United’s investors can have confidence we remain focused on achieving our long-term profit margin goals,” he said.

(Reporting by Valerie Insinna in Washington and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago and Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher and David Shepardson; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, William Maclean, Bernadette Baum, David Gregorio, Aurora Ellis and Mark Porter)

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Tuesday announced actions against Chinese companies and people as the Biden administration seeks to target the trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl, unsealing indictments and imposing sanctions on dozens of targets.

“We are here today to deliver a message on behalf of the United States government. We know who is responsible for poisoning the American people with fentanyl,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters.

“We know that this global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China.”

The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on 28 people and entities involved with the international proliferation of illicit drugs, including a large China-based network.

The move marks the latest Chinese targets hit with sanctions by Washington in a fentanyl-related action, as the Biden administration seeks to stem imports of the drug.

The Justice Department also unsealed eight indictments charging China-based companies and their employees with crimes relating to fentanyl and methamphetamine production, distribution of synthetic opioids, and sales resulting from precursor chemicals.

China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Treasury accused the network of being responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine and MDMA precursors.

It said the network is capable of synthesizing multi-thousand-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and MDMA precursors and other illicit chemicals.

So-called fentanyl precursors are chemicals used to produce the powerful synthetic opioid that has fueled a rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States in recent years.

Also hit with sanctions were two entities and one person based in Canada.

Tuesday’s sanctions action freezes any U.S. assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Daphne Psaledakis; Additional reporting by Michael Martina, Rami Ayyub and Costas Pitas; editing by Susan Heavey)

By Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican presidential contenders are scheduled to face off in a third primary debate on Nov. 8. Here are some facts about the showdown:

WHERE IS IT?

The third debate will take place in Miami, though the Republican National Committee has yet to specify the venue or exact time. Florida is the home of former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who are running first and second in national opinion polls, respectively.

Florida was until recently a battleground between Republicans and Democrats, but the state now leans conservative. The state hosts a Republican primary contest in March, which has played a crucial role in previous primary elections, though it is considerably less important than contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, which are slated for January and February.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

To qualify for the debate, a candidate will need to receive at least 4% in two national polls or 4% in one national poll as well as 4% in a poll in at least two “early states.” Those early states are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, all of which are among the first to hold nominating contests. The Republican National Committee has laid out several requirements for surveys to count toward this requirement, including that they must take place after Sept. 1.

Candidates will also be required to have at least 70,000 unique donors, including at least 200 donors from 20 or more states or territories. They also must sign a pledge which requires participants to support the eventual Republican nominee.

WILL TRUMP BE THERE?

Trump holds a 37-percentage point lead over DeSantis, his closest challenger, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, limiting the debate’s significance if he is not there.

Trump opted out of the first two Republican debates, saying it would be “stupid” to expose himself to attacks from opponents after he previously implied he would not participate in any of the debates. While the possibility that Trump changes his mind cannot be ruled out, his campaign advisers on Oct. 2 called for the RNC to cancel the upcoming Miami debate.

WHICH OTHER CANDIDATES WILL BE THERE?

DeSantis, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy appear to have the support needed to make the debate stage. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott also appear to have a solid shot of being there, according to recent polls.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum faces longer odds. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who did not qualify for the second debate in California, is unlikely to be there, unless his fortunes change.

HOW MUCH WILL THE DEBATE MATTER?

The November debate could make a difference for some candidates, but is unlikely to change the fundamental dynamics of the race. After the first presidential debate in Wisconsin, for instance, Haley received a measurable polling boost and renewed interest from donors thanks to a well-received performance. Still, that debate did not dent Trump’s massive lead.

With the third debate just over two months before the first primary contest in Iowa in January, the candidates will be under intense pressure to begin chipping away at Trump’s lead.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Nathan Layne, editing by Ross Colvin, Deepa Babington and Jonathan Oatis)

LONDON (Reuters) -The number of instances of greenwashing by banks and financial services companies around the world rose 70% in the past 12 months from the previous 12 months, a report on Tuesday showed.

European financial institutions accounted for most of those instances, and much of the greenwashing involved claims about fossil fuels.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) data firm RepRisk recorded 148 cases from the banking and financial services industry globally in the 12 months to the end of September 2023, up from 86 during the previous 12 months.

Of the 148 cases, 106 were by European financial institutions.

The European Banking Federation said RepRisk’s report comprised allegations rather than verified claims of greenwashing.

Greenwashing involves an organisation making misleading sustainability-related claims to investors or consumers, usually to boost its reputation and bottom line.

Regulators want to stamp out greenwashing to boost consumer and investor confidence and help encourage more cash towards sustainable investments, although there is no legal definition of what greenwashing is yet.

RepRisk, which says it has data going back to 2007, considers greenwashing to have occurred when a firm makes misleading communications on the environment.

It looks for such communication by analysing public sources of information and stakeholders, rather than the information companies have published. For example, research findings revealing that a company has overstated the impact of an initiative would be tallied as a case of greenwashing.

“Over 50% of these climate-specific greenwashing risk incidents either mentioned fossil fuels or linked a financial institution to an oil and gas company. These incidents are not happening in isolation and regulators are increasingly aware of the scale of the problem,” RepRisk said.

European Banking Federation (EBF) said the rise in greenwashing claims may be linked to increased scrutiny of banks and their sustainability commitments, rather than deliberate misrepresentations by lenders.

Banks play a key role financing companies’ decarbonisation efforts, including in high-emission industries, the EBF said. The “concept of transition finance is not well-defined, and this lack of clarity can lead to unsubstantiated greenwashing accusations,” a spokesperson added in an emailed statement.

UK Finance, which represents the banking and finance industry, said in a statement that firms across the sector had put environmental and social responsibility “at the core of their strategies”. It is working with regulators on transparency and ESG product labelling, it added.

European Union watchdogs in June put forward a “common high-level understanding” of greenwashing and said banks, insurers and investment firms across the bloc had made “misleading claims” about their sustainability credentials to investors.

The banking and financial services industry is second only to oil and gas for the number of greenwashing incidents, RepRisk said.

The data firm found that greenwashing more broadly was on the rise.

One in every four climate-related ESG risk incidents was linked to greenwashing, an increase from one in five last year, it said, while it also found that one in three companies tied to greenwashing was also embroiled in so-called “social washing”.

It defined social washing as companies presenting themselves positively by “obscuring an underlying social issue” – such as human rights abuses and corporate complicity, or impacts on communities – to protect their reputation and financial performance.

“Misleading communication around environmental and social topics not only impedes progress towards collective goals, but also damages trust with consumers and investors,” RepRisk wrote in its latest report.

(Reporting by Tommy Reggiori WilkesEditing by Mark Potter, Jan Harvey and Aurora Ellis)

By Jonathan Allen and Brendan O’Brien

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Torrential downpours after a week of mostly steady rainfall brought flash flooding to New York City on Friday, disrupting subway service, inundating ground-level apartments and turning some streets into small lakes.

Almost eight inches (20 cm) of rain fell in some parts of the most populous city in the U.S., enough to enable a sea lion at Central Park Zoo to swim briefly out of the confines of her pool enclosure. Another few inches could fall in the region before the storm system pushed out to sea later on Friday, forecasters said.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned of “life-threatening” floods and declared a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. Some National Guard troops were deployed to assist in the response.

In Mamaroneck, a Westchester County suburb north of the city, emergency officials used inflatable rafts to rescue people trapped in buildings by floods.

Flooding caused major disruptions to New York’s subway system and the Metro North commuter rail service, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Agency, which operates both. Some subway lines were suspended entirely, and many stations were closed. Some bus routes slowed to a crawl, trapping riders for hours. Officials warned some New Yorkers to avoid traveling unless they were fleeing a flooded area.

Systems producing intense rainfalls such as Friday’s have become more common in many parts of the U.S., including the New York City area.

Global warming has produced more extreme weather patterns in much of the world, according to climate scientists.

The rain capped one of New York’s wettest Septembers on record, with 13.74 inches (34.9 cm) of rain falling during the month as of 11 a.m. on Friday, and more on the way, said Dominic Ramunni, a National Weather Service forecaster. The all-time high was set in 1882 when 16.82 inches (42.72 cm) fell in September.

“I don’t know if we’ll beat the record, but we’ll come close,” Ramunni said.

It was the rainiest day at the city’s John F. Kennedy International Airport since records began in 1948, the New York office of the National Weather Service said, citing preliminary data.

Despite the warnings, the city’s public schools were open for the day. Some buildings experienced flooding but no operations were affected, a district spokesperson said.

At least one suburban district, Bronxville just north of New York, dismissed students early because of the worsening flooding.

Patti Zhang, 43, a social worker from New Hyde Park, near the border of New York City and Long Island’s Nassau County, lives around the corner from the elementary school attended by her three children. The family braved the weather and walked to school on Friday morning.

In some spots the water pooling on the street was 5 inches (13 cm) deep, she said, spilling over the tops of her children’s rain boots. Zhang said she had to make a second trip to school to deliver dry shoes and socks for them.

“This is crazy,” she said. “When will this stop?”

Floodwaters marooned vehicles on streets and poured into subway stations, disrupting the journeys of millions of commuters.

Mohammed Doha, a 52-year-old construction worker who lives in a ground-level, two-bedroom apartment in The Hole, a low-lying wedge of blocks on the border between Brooklyn and Queens, splashed through his kitchen in sandals.

“If they would have a proper drainage system like the other areas of the city, then we wouldn’t have this problem,” he said. “We are really, really suffering.”

Yasiel Ogando, a 38-year-old hospital worker who lives in The Hole with her family, complained that the city gave residents no warning about the flooding, a complaint echoed by some elected officials. Some compared it to a lack of warnings in June ahead of the arrival of toxic smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting south.

“Nothing gets done,” Ogando said, after a morning trying to bail water mixed with sewage out of the basement of the family home. “It’s really bad. It’s terrible.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whose office issued a “travel advisory” late on Thursday night, defended his administration’s response at a press conference on Friday saying that “all of the necessary precautions were taken.”

In neighboring New Jersey, low-lying Hoboken, a city directly across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan, declared a state of emergency, with all but one of the southern routes into town under water.

Hoboken’s newly installed floodgates, designed to close automatically when water pooled on roadways, were down, blocking many streets to vehicular traffic.

Friday’s deluge followed a bout of heavy downpours and strong winds last weekend from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia. That storm soaked New York City and caused widespread power outages in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In New York, intermittent rain this week further saturated the ground, setting up conditions conducive to flash flooding.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Bing Guan in New York, Mike Segar in Mamaroneck, New York, Brendan O’Brien in Chicago, and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Daniel Wallis)