Said Mr Lee: "It was a tough situation. It's hard enough that my wife had to feel the contractions, yet she had to walk down the stairs."

Mrs Lee added: "I managed to move down about two flights of stairs between each wave of contractions and I kept praying for strength."

When they reached the ground storey, they saw that Manhattan had become a ghost town.

The roads were deserted, and the street and traffic lights were not working. Only emergency vehicles were driving around.

Said Mr Lee: "The situation was stressful. My wife now had trouble standing, so walking to the hospital was out."

"Phone lines and mobile communication were also cut off in the aftermath of the flood. And there were no taxis on the road."

Mrs Lee added: "I was in so much pain that I barely remember that I was waiting in the lobby."

The only solution was to wave down a passing vehicle to get help.

Thankfully, a police car stopped around 11.30pm and rushed them to the hospital with sirens blazing. Mr Lee said: "I was very grateful to the officer for stopping as he was actually driving to an accident scene.

"At first, I was also concerned that the hospital would not admit us, either because it was still too early or because there were already too many transfer patients from hospitals that had been closed."

Mr Lee said that the hospital had a back-up generator. There was power available, but it was prioritised for life-saving or life-sustaining equipment.

In addition, the lights in the maternity wards were turned down very low and there was no air-conditioning. Most power sockets did not work.

Mr Lee said: "Despite this, I was so relieved. At least, there were doctors around."

As a bonus, the Lees found a working power socket, which they used to charge their mobile phones, and they updated their family and friends about their situation.

"Truly the most relaxing way to have a baby. Thanks to all for the prayers, thoughts and wishes." Around 7.30pm on Oct 30, Emma was born.

Mrs Lee was discharged two days later, and over the next week, the couple stayed with friends whose apartments had power restored.

It was only over a week later that they moved back into their own apartment.

Mr Lee said: "We were very lucky. If we hadn't left the apartment at the time we did, the floods would have almost certainly prevented us from getting to hospital."

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