At least 15 people have died during the snowstorm and deep freeze in New York City and on Long Island, authorities said Tuesday.
The growing death toll has seen 10 people found dead in the city, all outside, with at least some believed to have been homeless, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani. On the Island, five people died in the process of shoveling snow, with four of the deaths in Suffolk County and one in Nassau.
The arctic blast that came to the region last week sent temperatures plummeting into the single digits. They have mostly stayed below freezing. Then there was the snowstorm Sunday into Monday, with over a foot of snow in some places. And temperatures are expected to stay below freezing until at least next week.
The Associated Press reported a nationwide tally of at least 30 people who died from the effects of the winter storm. It was not clear whether that included the Long Island numbers.
In the city, Mamdani’s office updated the death toll three times in two days: It was seven people on Monday morning, eight people hours later, and on Tuesday, he announced that two more had died.
“At least 10 New Yorkers have tragically lost their lives after being found outdoors,” Mamdani said at an unrelated news conference at City Hall. “We don’t yet know whether every case will be ruled hypothermia, but we need every New Yorker to be alert, looking out for their neighbors.”
Mamdani said he was increasing the frequency with which outreach workers canvass for homeless people in the elements.
In Nassau, a 60-year-old retired NYPD sergeant from Floral Park died Sunday while getting ready to shovel snow at his church.
In Suffolk, the four deaths related to snow-shoveling occurred Monday and were all men of over 60, according to Marianne Chiarello, assistant to the county’s chief medical examiner. Three of the men were outside at the time of a fatal medical episode, and one occurred at home hours later.
Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine’s spokesman Mike Martino said three of the people died at the scenes and one person was brought to the hospital, but was pronounced dead later. Neither Martino nor Chiarello would provide further details.
Nationwide, nearly 100 people die annually while shoveling snow, according to a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.