Powerful storm in New York leaves one dead and four injured

A powerful storm that swept across the northeastern United States has caused a tragedy in New York, leaving one person dead and four others injured, The New York Post reports.

Leighton Brown, a 56-year-old employee of the city’s Housing Authority, was killed after a falling tree struck him in Brooklyn. The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. local time on September 26 on Euclid Avenue, as wind gusts reached 72 km/h.

Brown was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead two hours later.

Later, another tree fell onto a playground in Brooklyn, injuring four people.

The storm hit New York and surrounding areas on the evening of September 25. The system was expected to bring around 20 centimeters of additional precipitation before moving toward the ocean on Monday, September 28. In parts of the northeastern United States, individual wind gusts could reach 129 km/h.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in New York State, Westchester County and Long Island. She warned that the full moon could cause tidal levels to rise, with waves reaching around 6 meters in some areas.

Heavy rainfall and high tides have already caused flooding in coastal areas of Queens, Staten Island, Long Island and the New Jersey coast. Queens was hit hardest, with residents in Howard Beach using kayaks to navigate flooded streets.

By Jeyhun Aghazada