David Muir interrupts show to bring emergency update with horror scenes

During ABC World News Tonight, David Muir interrupted the show to share an intense weather report about the current state of the northeast region of America, showing wild footage

David Muir started his show speaking about the intense weather(Image: ABC)

David Muir probably had another way he wanted to start his July 31 show, but Mother Nature wasn’t having it.

The beloved newscaster, who hosts ABC World News Tonight and sent fans into a frenzy this week, started his show detailing the almost apocalyptic rain that hit the northeast that afternoon and night. He said, “We begin tonight with states of emergency in the northeast at this hour as severe thunderstorms and flash flooding slam New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York, and New Jersey tonight, declaring emergencies.”

“Drivers rescued from their cars on expressways,” he detailed, “The rain falling at a rate of three inches an hour, flooding sweeping streets and highways, rivers and creeks rising quickly, storm drains unable to keep up. Time-lapse video showing the dark storm clouds moving in over New York City.” It comes after Muir issued a bombshell 4-word update to viewers as he stepped away from his desk on air.

That Thursday night, David detailed, Baltimore emergency workers rescued two people from their cars on the highway. As he spoke, footage was shown of New York highways where the water flooded so high that the wheels of trucks were completely covered.

People had to be rescued from cars(Image: abc World News)

1,500 flights were delayed in and out of the U.S. as well. David then cut to Morgan Norwood, a correspondent on the scene in New York City.

“On the Clearview Expressway in Queens, rescue workers working to get drivers out of vehicles,” she said. “A tractor-trailer also stranded. Bystanders stunned.”

Morgan then spoke to Bill Barrett, a Queens resident who told the news program that he saw the highway rain was “10 feet deep with cars in it, people sitting on top of cars. I would guess within an hour, we got three inches.”

Highways in Queens were completely flooded(Image: abc World News)

One car had all four doors open and was completely flooded. Morgan reported that the expressway was closed for hours. She then showed a video of Grand Central Terminal, where water fell through the ceiling of the subway and cascaded down subway cars. Morgan brought up that just weeks ago, New York and New Jersey were hit with similar floods that caused subway-goers to wade through floodwater.

At the end of the segment, Morgan was standing outside the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan, showing off the traffic behind her. She added that some areas were looking at a half-foot of rain later that night.

The segment was later posted on the show’s official Instagram page with the caption, “Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding are wreaking havoc across the Northeast. New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergency as rainfall reaches up to 2-3 inches per hour in some areas. @Morganorwood reports.”