Nor'easter claims first confirmed life as swimmer vanishes off Fire Island
A swimmer disappeared off Robert Moses State Park on Saturday as the nor'easter battered New York, and a 56-year-old housing worker was killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn — the storm's first confirmed death.
The nor’easter battering the New York region has claimed its first confirmed life and left a swimmer missing off Long Island, officials said.
An unidentified man was seen in the ocean near Field 3 at Robert Moses State Park — on the western tip of Fire Island — at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, the New York State Police said. He disappeared from view and did not exit the water. He was described as a white male wearing dark-coloured shorts, and police asked the public for help identifying him.
The search was suspended on Saturday evening because of darkness and was expected to relaunch on Sunday, News 12 reported. The National Weather Service said waves averaged 18 feet, with swells reaching 25 feet at times, and winds gusting past 60 mph.
Roughly an hour after the swimmer disappeared, the storm’s first confirmed casualty was reported in Brooklyn. Leighton Brown, a 56-year-old worker for the New York City Housing Authority, was killed when heavy winds brought down a tree at the Cypress Hills Houses, 700 Euclid Avenue in East New York, at around 3:30 p.m. He suffered “trauma throughout his body” and was pronounced dead shortly after 5 p.m.
“My thoughts are with his entire family as they deal with this unimaginable loss. May he rest in peace, and may his service to our city never be forgotten,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on X.
Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency for the lower counties of New York state, warning that “extremely dangerous rip currents and high surf make entering the ocean life-threatening”.
Nearly 17,000 customers in Suffolk County and 2,000 in Nassau were without power as of 4 a.m. on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.com.
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