By Hector Flores
The severe weather pattern left some motorists stranded inside their cars near the off-ramps of the Meadowbrook Parkway and caused the closure of the Wantagh Parkway. Flash floods were also reported at the intersection of Stewart and Merrick avenues and parts of Front Street and East Meadow Avenue, where many businesses were left under water as storm drains failed to handle the intense downpours.
Rakesh Vasani, proprietor of Rakesh¹s Convenience Store on East Meadow Avenue, suffered some property damage as a result of the flooding. ³This is a brand new store,² he said. ³I just put in a brand new carpet last week. My pump didn¹t work, and [the] only thing I had was a humidifier. Luckily one of my customers lent me a vacuum, but my carpet is still ruined.²
Vasani added that for five hours he did not open the store¹s doors for fear of letting more rainwater in. ³The floods really messed business for that day,² he said. ³And now my insurance company will not cover any of the flood damage. This is just my luck.²
Heavy winds also caused power outages throughout East Meadow. One was reported at the intersection of Hempstead Turnpike and East Meadow Avenue, where an out-of-service traffic light left drivers to fend for themselves.
Mary Ellen Occhipinti of Douglas Drive said she couldn¹t get out of her street because the water was up to the sidewalk. She also said that Hempstead Turnpike was closed in both directions because of flooding, and Beach Street and Douglas Drive suffered severe flooding.
A National Weather Service investigation determined that a tornado had touched down in several locations in East Massapequa and Amityville. John Murray of the NWS said the tornado landed between noon and 12:15 p.m., with winds of up to 72 mph. ³The tornado¹s wind path was only about one quarter of a mile long and around 150 yards at it widest part in Massapequa,² Murray explained. ³Predominantly tree damage covered this area of the South Shore. Rotation was evident in the tops of many of the trees, and tornado damage came very close to the ground in several locations.²
John O¹Brien, first assistant chief of the East Meadow Fire Department, said that East Meadow flooding was a side effect of the tornado. ³It was probably the most severe weather in East Meadow in recent years,² O¹Brien said. ³There was so much going on. We had around 10 calls, which resulted in our need to call a general alarm, which means that all [available volunteer] firefighters were asked to report to their firehouses immediately. It was a state of emergency for our fire department.²
O¹Brien added that no major injuries were reported, but there were many reports of downed power lines, small fires and flooding. ³We responded to an automatic fire alarm at a house on Chamberlin Street, [and] power lines were down on Glen More Avenue, Prospect Avenue, Greenbelt Lane and Hempstead Turnpike,² O¹Brien said. ³Water was also up to the curb on both sides on Prospect Avenue. The safety of our firefighters and residents was our No. 1 concern. Luckily, by 3 p.m., everything seemed to be back to normal.²
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
