The superstorm known as Sandy claimed at least 52 lives in the tri-state area, including 34 in New York City, two on Long Island, 14 in New Jersey and four in Connecticut.
The local death toll may still climb even higher as search-and-rescue and clean-up operations continue, Mayor Bloomberg said Tuesday. New York state's death toll stood at 37 lives. Nationwide, 74 people suffered storm-related deaths.
Sandy was officially downgraded from hurricane status as it moved inland Monday but the post-tropical storm cut a major swath of death and destruction across the region. This is what is known about the fatalities thus far:
New York
- Artur Kasprzak, an off-duty NYPD officer, was found dead in the basement of his Staten Island home. As the water was rising around his Doty Avenue home, the 28-year-old helped six adults and one 15-month old child to safety in his attic. He went back to check the basement and was not heard from again until authorities discovered his body.
- A 29-year old man in Flushing, Queens was killed in bed when a tree crashed into his home
- A woman in South Richmond Hill, Queens died after coming into contact with wires in a flooded area.
- A man in his 50s was also found dead in a flooded lower Manhattan basement, authorities said.
- At least four people were found floating inside their homes or backyards on Staten Island. Police said many of the victims were alone, or in some cases, elderly. Emergency responders say they're finding homes that were completely flattened by a wall of water during the storm surge. The rescue operation is ongoing.
- A 14-year-old girl was found dead in a home on Manhattan Street in Staten Island that was collapsed by the storm.
- A man and a woman were found dead beneath a tree in Brooklyn near Ditmars Avenue and East 18th Street
- A 75-year-old woman was found dead in Manhattan. Her oxygen machine had no power.
- In Long Island's Suffolk County, a 39-year-old man was struck by falling tree and in Nassau County, a 84-year-old man died after being struck by a falling tree.
New Jersey
- Authorities in Morris County said two people died after a tree fell on their car Monday evening in Mendham Township.
- A 77-year-old man in Hawthorne was killed when a tree crashed into his house
- The body of Joseph Godlesky, 69, of South Hackensack was pulled from the Hackensack River, which overflowed its banks
- William Sword, 61, was found trapped beneath a tree which had fallen as he cleared debris from his driveway in Princeton Township
- Two elderly women were found dead in homes that had no power: In Jersey City, a woman who used an oxygen machine was found by her caregiver, while a lack of lightning apparently caused another woman to fall down some stairs in Summit.
Connecticut
- In Easton, a firefighter died when the truck he was riding in was hit by a tree. The firefighters suffered massive cardiac arrest.
- The body of a missing 34-year-old man was recovered in Milford. Authorities say he was last seen swimming in the heavy surf after jumping from a pier at about 8 p.m. Monday.
- A 90-year old Mansfield woman, Olga Raymond, was killed and two family members were seriously injured when a tree fell on them Monday, according to the Associated Press.
More reports of death are coming in. As NBC 4 New York confirms them, we will update this list.
