New York’s LaGuardia Airport Flooded [Photo]

Traffic in airports around the northeast from North Carolina to Boston is virtually at a standstill, and New York’s LaGuardia airport has flooded, stranding thousands of passengers because of super storm Sandy.

More than 13,785 flights have been canceled because of the massive hurricane, according to FlightAware, effectively halting all commercial air traffic on the East Coast, reports ABC News.

The FAA announced on Monday:

“The FAA’s top operational priority is to quickly re-establish air traffic service to support disaster relief efforts. Following the storm, the FAA will conduct a damage assessment of air traffic facilities and navigational aids and set priorities to quickly repair or re-establish any damaged critical navigational aids or facilities.”

Millions of pictures have been taken of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, but the photos taken by passengers waiting at LaGuardia airport show water flooding the tarmac and runways.

LaGuardia is bordered on three sides by water, making it a prime target for the super storm to hit. Two photos were submitted to The Dallas Morning News, with one reader saying:

“The funny (and ironic) thing is that LGA has a small satellite terminal called the “Marine Air Terminal” but it appears as if the entire airport is a marine air terminal today.”

The two photos show that passengers waiting on flights to and from the New York City airport will be waiting a long time before the water subsides and the cleanup can begin. One passenger waiting on a flight in San Francisco stated:

“It’s not the airlines’ fault, you can’t really control the weather. Just go with the flow.”

It is not yet clear how long it will take to clear LaGuardia’s flooded tarmac and resume flights.