Tornado-like storm wreaks havoc in New York City killing one, destroying buildings

NEW YORK - A tornado-like storm, with 100 mph winds, ripped through New York City on Thursday evening, killing one person, snapping mighty trees, destroying buildings and causing traffic chaos.

Although weather officials could not confirm whether a twister had touched down, witnesses reported funnel clouds in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens.

The sky turned to shade of green as the destructive winds blew in, toppling a church steeple, blowing out windows and mowing down forests.

“It’s like a war zone out here. Trees are down. Some houses have come apart,” the New York Daily Times quoted a resident, as saying.

Thiry-year-old Aline Levakis of Mechanicsburg in Pennsylvania was killed when a tree crushed a car she was driving on the Grand Central Parkway near Jewel Ave. in Queens.

A parking lot wall at the 112th Precinct stationhouse in Queens reportedly collapsed, while the steeple of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Flushing lay crumpled across Main St following the storm’s fury. The roof over the circular driveway at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick, Brooklyn, was also destroyed, the paper said.

“I got chased by it. It was an absolute washing machine,” another resident said.

Fallen trees blocked a number of streets and led to traffic jams for hours in New York.

Con Edison, the New York’s electricity service, warned people to stay away from downed electrical wires across the city. (ANI)