Nor’easter causes major flooding in Island Park

The first nor’easter of the season hit the South Shore of Long Island on Saturday and caused massive flooding and Long Island Rail Road delays in Island Park.

According to Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty, there was flooding from the corner of Warwick and Long Beach roads, which extended south of the railroad tracks.

“We decided to close off Long Beach Road in order to keep the water from going into the businesses,” McGinty said.

The tracks near the Island Park LIRR station were flooded after the storm, which sparked a fire on the tracks of the station. The issues caused the Long Beach branch to be temporarily suspended in both directions while workers pumped water from the tracks.

McGinty praised the village’s board of trustees for going door to door and checking on residents and the Fire Department for taking swift action and being on call for 16 hours.

“We had a northeast storm coupled with a high tide that was driven by the moon and as a result, it was heavier than usual,” he said of the flooding, noting that winds gusted at 28 mph.

McGinty said village officials documented the damage for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery in the hope of being awarded funds as part of the hazardous mitigation grant program. “We continue to provide documentation for the obvious need of that program,” he said.