As heavy rains continue to pound Brooklyn, Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) is asking his constituents to let him know if there are street flooding conditions in their communities.

Assemblyman Colton explained that a special number, 718-376-3645, has been set up for this purpose, and that he is sending the reports he receives to the mayor’s office and to the city’s Office of Emergency Management which sends out teams to assess and correct such situations.

“First of all, stay safe,” Assemblyman Colton urged area residents. “For emergency situations, which pose a threat to health or safety, you should call 911 immediately. For non-emergency situations, you should call 311. If you call my dedicated number and leave a message, you should be as specific as possible about the flooding conditions, so we can follow up.”

Assemblyman Colton said that Susan Zhuang, his chief of staff who is currently on unpaid leave, has been driving around the neighborhood looking for flood conditions and letting him know about anything she sees. These reports, he said, are being sent to OEM, where he is in direct contact with Deputy Commissioner Christina Farrell, and to the mayor’s office, where he is working with Mayoral Liaison Jasper Diaz.

According to the National Weather Service, 5.97 inches of rain had fallen in Brooklyn by 9:25 am today. A state of emergency was declared by New York Governor Kathy Hochul for New York City, the Hudson Valley and Long Island.

Notify NYC, the city emergency alert system, warns residents who are in basement apartments to move to the highest floor they can; it also urges drivers to use extreme caution, and not drive their cars into areas where the roadway is flooded.