Hurricane Claims Five Lives in New York

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s office tonight confirmed at least five storm-related deaths in New York. The first of which was a 30-year-old man in Flushing, Queens.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was crushed when a tree fell into his home on 166th Street this evening.

The deadly storm officially made landfall, with the eye of the 900-mile wide monster storm striking New Jersey at 6:03 p.m., Fox New reported.

According to a report on CBS2, NYU Hospital is being evacuated after their backup generator failed.

The worst of the storm, a combination of Sandy, a wintry system from the West and cold air streaming from the Arctic, was still expected to hit the city under a full moon at about 8 p.m. Surging waters of between 6 and 11 feet could flood subway tunnels, knocking out the underground network of power, phone and high-speed Internet lines that are the lifeblood of America’s financial capital.

The storm has left a large swath of the lower part of Manhattan without power.

Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert said Monday evening that the power was out for most of Manhattan south of 26th Street.

On the east side, the power outage extended from 29th Street south. There were some scattered areas that still had electricity.

Olert said the damage stemmed from flooding and the probable loss of a transmission feeder.

The power outage was separate from a planned power cut that Con Ed did in certain lower Manhattan neighborhoods to protect underwater systems from flood damage.

The massive storm was downgraded just after it barged ashore in southern New Jersey, bringing 90-mph winds and a roiling wall of seawater as it moved inland and north toward New York City. The monster storm, still a powerful, 900-mile-wide hybrid of several weather systems, sent 30-foot-high swells toward the garden State, and as its eye passed over the shoreline, a surge as high as 10 feet tore into dunes and washed across boardwalks.

City and local officials made one last plea this evening for residents in flood-prone areas to seek higher ground.

With the worst yet to come, the storm already injured a handful of people with falling tree branches, left the boom of a crane hanging dangerously from a midtown skyscraper, and zapped power to more than 200,000 homes on Long Island.

An additional 4,000 residents in the city were without power.

Two NYPD cops in the East Village were injured when a light pole fell onto their patrol car, officials said.

The officers were driving on the FDR Drive near East 6th Street around 3:35 p.m. when the pole toppled down.

Both were rushed to Bellevue Hospital, one in serious condition, the other with minor injuries, the FDNY said.

The storm has maintained 90 mile per hour winds and was moving at 28 miles per hour.

City officials warned residents in low-lying areas to evacuate their homes and businesses immediately early this afternoon if they still could.

“If you are still in Zone A and can find a way to leave, leave immediately,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Conditions are deteriorating very rapidly and the window for you getting out safely is closing.”

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