East Coast nor’easter leaves one dead as flooding and high winds continue
A Brooklyn city housing worker was killed by a falling tree as the storm flooded coastal communities and kept hazards in place into Monday.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
East Coast nor’easter flooding left roads and coastal neighborhoods under water from the Mid-Atlantic into New England, while a Brooklyn worker was killed after a tree fell on him, authorities said.
The New York Police Department told ABC News that the 56-year-old man was struck Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn. Mayor Zohran Mamdani identified him as Leighton Brown, an employee of the New York City Housing Authority.
Heavy rain bands were still moving ashore Sunday from Delaware to Massachusetts, ABC News reported. Coastal parts of New York and New Jersey saw severe flooding, CBS News reported, with residents in some areas using kayaks and canoes to move through inundated streets.
The storm’s reach was broad, from the Carolinas and Virginia through New Jersey, New York and southern New England. The intensity varied by location, but rain, wind, surf and high tides combined to close in on vulnerable coastal areas.
What hazards remain from the East Coast nor’easter?
Coastal flood alerts remained in place through Sunday evening for splash-over and minor-to-moderate flooding around high tide, ABC News reported. NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center, cited by USA Today, also warned of rough surf, dangerous rip currents and beach erosion from the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic through southern New England.
Wind advisories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to central Massachusetts, including New York City, with gusts up to 50 mph possible, according to ABC News. The outlet said high-wind warnings also remained in effect for the Jersey Shore and parts of Connecticut, where stronger gusts could bring down more trees and power lines.
A nor’easter is a coastal storm whose winds generally come from the northeast. In this case, repeated high tides and rough waves drove coastal flooding, while heavy rain also raised the prospect of inland flooding on roads and in low-lying areas.
The National Weather Service forecast, reported by CBS News, said rain could continue through Monday night and produce localized flash flooding, particularly in urban areas, on roads, and near small streams. USA Today reported that isolated inland flooding remained possible from northern New Jersey into southern New England through Sept. 28.
ABC News said another 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall from parts of coastal New Jersey into New England through Monday, with localized totals of 5 to 7 inches possible in southern New England. CBS meteorologist Andrew Kozak forecast 1 to 2 additional inches near New York City through Sunday night and 2 to 4 more inches in parts of New England, with up to 7 inches possible.
Outages and travel disruption
Power loss and travel disruption were already reported across the region. CBS News, citing PowerOutage.us, reported Sunday morning that more than 40,000 customers in New York and about 30,000 in Connecticut were without electricity. Separately, New York City’s Office of Emergency Management said at 9 a.m. Sunday that the city had logged 500 reports of downed trees and 2,500 customers without power, according to ABC News.
The storm was expected to weaken Sunday night and gradually move away from the coast Monday, ABC News reported, though showers and breezy conditions could linger into Monday evening.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.