JFK Airport is flooding right now, and the pictures will literally make you shriek

As if the freezing temperatures plaguing the Northeast couldn’t be worse, travelers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were in for an unexpected nightmare after a water main broke at a baggage claim area in Terminal 4.

After nearly two weeks of record-breaking low temperatures — not to mention the storm that’s being referred to as a “bomb cyclone” — left flights all over the region grounded, or saw passengers stranded on the tarmac for hours at a time, post-holiday traveling has not been easy. But things got a whole lot worse at JFK when a major pipe — which, according to CNN, was connected to the sprinkler system in Terminal 4 — burst in what was believed to be a weather-related incident, leaving muddy water all over the floor and travelers braving the outside temperatures in order to escape the flooding.

While the copious delays were already creating a stressful situation for travelers looking to claim their baggage at Terminal 4, one of the airport’s major international terminals, the flooding made the situation something out of every traveler’s nightmares.

Reporters and passengers bearing witness to the horrible situation took photos and videos of the incident.

We can’t decide which is worse: the flooding or the claustrophobia-inducing amount of luggage and people crammed into a small space.

Between the many, many delays and the flooding, passengers were left rightfully wondering when they’d be reunited with their missing (and hopefully dry) suitcases.

Luckily, it appears Terminal 4 is back up and running at full capacity. Port Authority, which runs JFK, released a statement in response to the Terminal 4 flooding, calling the incident “unacceptable” and announcing that it would be launching an investigation into the root cause of the pipe burst.

"What happened at JFK Airport is unacceptable, and travelers expect and deserve better," Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said in a statement. "While the water pipe break that occurred appears to be weather-related, we have launched an investigation into the incident to determine exactly what occurred and why an internal pipe was not weather protected and whether any other failures contributed to this disruption. The Port Authority is committed to providing the highest caliber of service to all travelers and we will hold those responsible accountable for any shortcomings we find."

We’re glad the Port Authority is taking this incident seriously, because we can’t even imagine what those travelers have been dealing with over the past few days. We hope JFK is being  generous to those who’ve been severely delayed by the incidents at the airport.