BROOKLYN CYCLONE
FREAK TORNADO RIPS UP HOUSES & TREES AS DEADLY FLOODING ADDS TO CITY WOE
That's right, Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore - you're in Brooklyn!
Buildings damaged by the storm in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.
A tornado touched down in the Borough of Kings yesterday, leaving a path of shredded rooftops, splintered trees and wrecked cars from Bay Ridge to Sunset Park.
The weather phenomenon more often associated with the Midwest than the Big Apple struck just after 6:30 a.m. amid a furious thunderstorm. For several minutes it swept across the southwestern part of Brooklyn with winds as high as 135 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
In all, the storm uprooted 217 trees - 174 in Brooklyn alone - damaged 40 homes and wrecked as many as 200 cars, officials said.
And it dumped as much as 3½ inches of rain in parts of the city in a matter of hours - crippling the city's transportation system and creating a nightmare for commuters trying to get to work.
Officials recorded one storm-related death - that of a New Jersey woman whose car stalled in high water beneath a Staten Island overpass, was rear-ended and burst into flames. Police arrested the other driver, Yahov Raihshtein, 58, for operating with a suspended license.
For the most part, however, the first twister in New York City since 1995 - and the first in Brooklyn since 1889 - left little more than torn-up roofs and shattered nerves in its path.
Lanie Mastellone said she was awoken by the sound of roaring wind and thunder, but the next thing she knew she was staring at the sky as her roof started to disappear and it began raining inside her Sunset Park home.
A portion of the Long Island Expressway is turned into a small lake
A house was torn apart by the storm in Brooklyn.
Kids play amid the aftermath of the storm in Bay Ridge.
[img width=210 height=320]http://www.nypost.com/seven/08092007/news/regionalnews/storm/photo07.jpg[/img]
The FDNY helps clear debris off rootops in Sunset Park.
Damaged homes and vehicles in Bay Ridge.
Firefighters survey the damage left by the storm in Sunset Park.
©New York Post
That's right, Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore - you're in Brooklyn!
Buildings damaged by the storm in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.
A tornado touched down in the Borough of Kings yesterday, leaving a path of shredded rooftops, splintered trees and wrecked cars from Bay Ridge to Sunset Park.
The weather phenomenon more often associated with the Midwest than the Big Apple struck just after 6:30 a.m. amid a furious thunderstorm. For several minutes it swept across the southwestern part of Brooklyn with winds as high as 135 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
In all, the storm uprooted 217 trees - 174 in Brooklyn alone - damaged 40 homes and wrecked as many as 200 cars, officials said.
And it dumped as much as 3½ inches of rain in parts of the city in a matter of hours - crippling the city's transportation system and creating a nightmare for commuters trying to get to work.
Officials recorded one storm-related death - that of a New Jersey woman whose car stalled in high water beneath a Staten Island overpass, was rear-ended and burst into flames. Police arrested the other driver, Yahov Raihshtein, 58, for operating with a suspended license.
For the most part, however, the first twister in New York City since 1995 - and the first in Brooklyn since 1889 - left little more than torn-up roofs and shattered nerves in its path.
Lanie Mastellone said she was awoken by the sound of roaring wind and thunder, but the next thing she knew she was staring at the sky as her roof started to disappear and it began raining inside her Sunset Park home.
A portion of the Long Island Expressway is turned into a small lake
A house was torn apart by the storm in Brooklyn.
Kids play amid the aftermath of the storm in Bay Ridge.
[img width=210 height=320]http://www.nypost.com/seven/08092007/news/regionalnews/storm/photo07.jpg[/img]
The FDNY helps clear debris off rootops in Sunset Park.
Damaged homes and vehicles in Bay Ridge.
Firefighters survey the damage left by the storm in Sunset Park.
©New York Post
Every cloud has a silver lining
