News: Long Island After the Hurricane
(Long Island, N.Y.) Long Islanders, who tuned into news reports during this week’s storm, have gathered that the overall verdict was a good job in preparing for the worst. Most reports stated that residents who stayed in evacuated areas believed that the hurricane, which was later downgraded to a tropical storm, had not been as bad as expected. Nonetheless, there were multiple causalities and upsets in the wake of the storm, including the loss of an eleven-year-old boy.
Sources claimed that the eleven-year-old was killed in Virginia when a tree crashed into his house. A child from North Carolina was killed at an intersection after a car accident occurred where a traffic light was down. Long Island residents suffered mostly from fallen trees and flooding along the southern shores.
Residents of the City of Long Beach, located on a barrier island, were ordered to evacuate prior to the onset of the storm. Many residents, however, stubbornly refused to budge and claimed that they had survived worse in prior years. Tales of encounters with 1985’s Hurricane Gloria were exchanged between fellow residents and those who had chosen to tough it out.
Some reports had captured thrill-seeking surfers and beachgoers during the storm’s opener. It wasn’t long before Irene’s powerful winds and heavy rains flooded the narrow streets of Long Beach and provided for significant damage. Flooding, added with high tide, caused parts of the city to be completely submerged in water and footage showed the ocean colliding with the bay.
The city’s lifeguard headquarters structure, located at the central point of the boardwalk, was rocked by the winds and flooding. Residents watched from elevated locations as Irene took the building from its moors and pushed it against the boardwalk. Some sources were able to capture it on video.
Meanwhile, on Long Island’s mainland, residents everywhere complained of power losses and broken windows. Many were unable to navigate the streets of their neighborhood due to fallen trees that had blocked the roadways. Some experienced heavy flooding and had to wait for police and authorities to remove the heavier debris from their homeward paths.
Those who did evacuate may have had a surprise to come home to, finding an array of damages left over from the storm. Some residents with homes in the southern part of Amityville were shocked to find that boats from the nearby marina had washed up into their front and back yards. Residents across the island are still encountering the effects of the recent tropical storm.
Those who evacuated were collectively happy with the rapid clearing of routes leading back to the tri-state area. Tolls had been suspended after the evacuations were initially issued, and some of the major bridges, roadways, and tunnels were reopened by Sunday evening.
