DEVASTATING
Falling tree kills dad, 59, sitting in van as Isaias wreaks havoc along I-95 corridor
Tropical Storm Isaias pounded the city and its suburbs Tuesday, killing a driver in Queens in a freak accident while toppling trees and spawning mass transit chaos for the evening rush hour.
A tree fell on the roof of a car in Briarwood around 1 p.m, killing the driver inside as the storm unleashed its fury.
Winds whipped up to 55 mph and gusts reached 70 mph. Downed trees forced the shutdown of all above-ground subway service, along with Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, officials said.
Commuters in Penn Station crowded the terminal, waiting for updates on service as rain lashed the city. The dispirited group shared a single mantra: I want to go home.
“I don’t trust the LIRR,” said Alaja Desilva, a nanny stuck amid the waiting masses. “They basically run on hamsters and magic.”
CPA Aqeel Rehman’s train was already 30 minutes late as he looked at the board listing departures. He was less than optimistic about his chances of getting home.
“I’ve already been here for an hour and a half,” he said. “Look around, there’s no seating in here and no temperature control. I think that’s contributing to our aggravation.”
Travel to Staten Island was just as problematic, with the winds shutting down the Verrazzano Bridge and ferry service.
“Largely the problem in this storm is high winds and downed trees,” said Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Patrick Foye.
The storm churned northwest along the Eastern seaboard, with the National Weather Service warning Isaias would spawn “conditions favorable for a tornado to form” in some areas.
“There’s a tornado too?” asked Derek Lee, 19, a Manhattan student. “I went grocery shopping yesterday to stock up on food for the storm, so I guess I’m ready for anything ... but I don’t think it’s going to be anything too terrible. Knock on wood.”
PATH train service in New Jersey was disrupted by a downed tree on the tracks between Harrison and Jersey City on the World Trade Center line, while the powerful winds also took down two trees and two telephone poles in Astoria, Queens, totaling four cars as they toppled. An ominous feeling floated in the wind across the streets of Brooklyn, with pedestrians forced to dodge broken umbrellas snapped by the storm.
Heavy rains fell across the region, and a tornado was spotted in New Jersey’s Cape May. Outages were reported in each of the five boroughs; a total of more than 201,000 were without power as of Tuesday night, according to utility company Con Ed.
Conditions were so bad that even service crews had to wait out the storm.
“It’s pretty dangerous out
there now,” said Alfonso Quiroz, a Con Edison spokesman. “We have to wait for the winds to die down before we send out crews. If they’re out there in the bucket trucks it’s not really safe.”
Continued flooding was possible through early Wednesday morning, with heavy rain expected to continue into the evening across the five boroughs, northeast New Jersey and the lower Hudson Valley, according to a National Weather Service alert.
High surf and dangerous rip currents were expected along the region’s beaches throughout the day, with the possibility of 5 inches of rain locally before the storm continues north.
“We’re going to be cautious,” said Shannon McAleer, 23, of Brooklyn, who was moving a colorful plants in breakable pots inside from the fire escape. “I’m trying to live as normal as possible but we live in an old building high above the ground floor. I’ve got to do the little things at least. It’s hard to predict it, you know?”
There was an additional threat from overflowing rivers, streams and creeks throughout the metropolitan area, along with the possibility of winds downing trees and power outages, according to the weather service.
Construction project manager Zolly Silver of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, instructed his crew to strap down equipment and other worksite materials in advance of the storm’s arrival.
“I was supposed to have a crane delivered but then we had to send it back because of this storm,” said the 39-yearold supervisor. “It’s not just another day. We are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.”
Storm advisories were issued up the Eastern seaboard through Maine, where intense rain is expected before the storm rushes into Canada at some point Tuesday evening.