At last some good news for New Yorkers: Thousands of RATS may have drowned in superstorm as water swept into city's tunnels

  • Water rushed into tunnels so fast that most rats would have drowned
  • Any survivors will be treated to a garbage feast once things dry out
  • Health risks now depend on how quickly subway tunnels can be cleared

By Louise Boyle

PUBLISHED: 16:13 EST, 31 October 2012 | UPDATED: 02:42 EST, 1 November 2012


In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, fears were rife that the streets would be overrun with rats escaping the flooded tunnels and subways.

But it now looks as if those fears may have been groundless as there have not, as yet, been any reports of rodents roaming the streets.

Experts are saying the water likely rushed into tunnels so fast that the rats - despite being strong swimmers - had no time to escape and died.

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Casualties: A family of rats drowned on the FDR Drive as they were trying to escape the flood waters

Casualties: A family of rats drowned on the FDR Drive as they were trying to escape the flood waters

Sam Miller, a spokesman for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told Forbes the city has not seen an increase in rats above ground caused by Sandy, adding that while flooding normally does drive them to the streets, it 'also drowns young rats in their burrows and can reduce the rat population'.

Rodentologist Robert Corrigan, who works with the city on keeping populations under control, told LiveScience that baby rats will likely die unless they are carried to safety by their mothers.

Vermin: Stock picture of rats in New York. Rats could come into contact with humans as they seek safety from the flood

Vermin: Fears of a rat influx on New York's streets have so far proven unfounded (stock picture)

Another expert, Herwig Leirs, a rodentologist at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, confirmed that most would drown.

'Rats will be carried away by the current and won't be strong enough to swim to the surface and breathe, or they'll be pushed to grates, they will get stuck there and they won't be strong enough to swim against the current,' he said.

However, the rats that are able to survive the floodwaters will be treated to a surge of garbage and food to feast on once things have dried out.

 

More...

Flood: A flooded Midtown Tunnel in New York City after Sandy hit the US East Coast on Monday night

Deluge: A flooded Midtown Tunnel in New York City after Sandy hit the US East Coast on Monday night

Rats could be forced into contact with people by the rising waters

Desperate times: Whether rats pose a health risk to New Yorkers depends on how quickly subway crews can clean out the tunnels

According to NBC, approximately 28 million rats live in the subway tunnels of New York. Whether they pose a health risk in the aftermath of the hurricane depends how quickly the water evaporates and how quickly subway crews can clean out the tunnels.

Rick Ostfeld of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Milbrook, New York, earlier told The Huffington Post that if rats were forced out of their lairs, this could result in a rise in infectious diseases carried by urban rodents, including leptospirosis, hantavirus, typhus, salmonella, and even the plague.  

VIDEO: Mayor Bloomberg says it could be days before power is restored... 

 
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They shouldn't be dumped into the ocean. All this needs to be burned. Poor marine life

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And thus ends the Occupy Wallstreet movement.

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poor little rats

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Probably moved up with the tide into those 5 star restaurants celebrities frequent.

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I don't know if the "pro-rat" comments were posted in sarcasm or not, but rats are carriers of such lovely diseases as plague, rabies, hanta virus and many more. 3 people died this past summer after contracting hanta virus just from coming into contact with droppings at Yosemite Nat'l Park, and more became seriously ill. Now imagine what kind of outbreak could be possible on a much larger scale with the compromised sanitary conditions that prevail after major flooding. It's probably a very good thing that the rat population was decimated, but those carcasses should be incinerated.

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I was greatly disappointed, I thought they were talking about Bloomberg and his mob.

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"We need to think of the delicate eco balance, its important to restock the numbers of new york rats as otherwise it could lead to ecological devastation." .................................................................................. Not a problem after all they do breed like rats

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Shouldn¿t the animal lovers be horrified over the plight of these poor rodents? And damning the monstrous humans for not trying to save them.

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During Katrina, the flooding caused the power generators at the Tulane Medical Center to go out. This caused the toilets to back up into the halls, and the rats (New Orleans, like NYC, has a large rat population that is plainly visible in alleys etc. even during the day) were running up and down the hall. Every one was on lockdown with the doors closed and locked because the guards at the prison two miles away left the keys for the prisoners to get out as they (the guards) took off themselves. Armed prisoners in orange jump suits were roaming the flooded streets. With no power, there was no air conditioner, and the outside temperature went up to 104 degrees fairenheit. Here in New Jersey 45 minutes west of Atlantic City it's cold today. Hope the folks on the coast and up in the city can hang on.

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family of rats????? whos who then? is the one on the left sisters uncle to the one on the right or what?

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