Hermine a reminder of Long Beach's vulnerability

Canals resident Kevin Reilly was doing yard work on Sunday afternoon when he greeted two neighbors as they rode their bicycles along Barnes Street, on a clear day when the boardwalk was packed with people and the sight of surfers darting into the ocean with their boards was ubiquitous.

“Getting ready for tonight,” one of the neighbors told Reilly.

The Canals, which floods often during heavy rain and high tide, was one of the hardest hit neighborhoods during Hurricane Sandy. As Tropical Storm Hermine made its way north, Reilly and others said it was a stark reminder of Long Beach’s vulnerability to coastal storms.

“We did rebuild, and this is the first potential threat of any kind of flooding, so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Reilly said. “There was a little anxiety with some of the people that I talked to.”

On Sunday night, Hermine’s track had turned further east in the Atlantic and was not expected to hit the South Shore, and a tropical storm warning was called off for the area.

Still, Governor Cuomo on Saturday announced that swimming would be prohibited on all Long Island beaches beginning Sunday due to rough surf and life-threatening rip currents.

According to News 12, Long Beach lifeguards responded to at least six emergencies in the ocean due to rough surf on Sunday and several people were pulled to safety. And a photographer taking photos by the Lincoln Boulevard jetty had to be rescued on Sunday morning after she was swept into the water and slammed against the rocks.

Swimmers are being advised to stay out of the water until at least Wednesday due to a high rip current risk.

On Monday, the National Weather Service said that the storm surge would be significantly lower than initially forecast, with only minor to "locally moderate" coastal impacts expected during times of high tide. A coastal flood advisory remained in effect through Tuesday.

"...We did lose quite a bit of sand on our beach to coastal erosion," the city said in a statement on Monday. "Thankfully, on the bayside, our flood protection measures, including several new tide-flex valves, have helped prevent flooding that would have likely occurred on some of our most flood-prone streets. This weekend serves as a reminder of the dangers of living on a barrier island, and the importance of preparation."

Reilly and many other residents are too familiar with coastal flooding, and many residents moved their vehicles to higher areas over the weekend or parked on the bridges in the Canals.

“We take water at the end of the street and that’s always a concern. It will be saltwater mixed with sewage, the way it always is,” he said on Sunday. “Heron [Street] always floods. The Canals have always been vulnerable, it’s just the way they were built, and we still need a long-term solution to fix it.”

Many residents in the Canals and West End are still in the process of elevating their homes; Reilly and his wife, Kristie, returned home a year and a half ago following a long and tedious elevation process – they also waited for funding from the New York Rising program – after their home sustained flood damage.

“They’re looking to elevate and trying to get the money squared away, and the contractors now are very busy,” Reilly said, adding that a number of residents in the Canals are still recovering from both Sandy and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

Reilly said that he was preparing for Hermine over the weekend: making sure his car had a full tank of gas; that his flashlights had good batteries; and bringing in and tying down outdoor furniture and other items that could fly away.

“It’s quiet now, and they say later on we’ll get more wind this evening,” he said on Sunday. “It’s such an erratic storm. The last report that I heard was there is still coastal flooding, but not as bad.”

Reilly, the Herald’s 2014 Person of the Year and a co-founder of Long Beach Rising, a Facebook page that provides residents and storm victims with information and resources, said that there were lessons learned after Irene and Sandy, and he emphasized the importance of being prepared.

“You have to give people the right information and you also have to make sure you don’t cry wolf,” Reilly said. “Everybody panicked during Irene, and then nothing really happened. People who always flood flooded, the people who don’t flood didn’t flood. And then Sandy comes around … and everyone said, No big deal. We left - I said this storm is going to be bad news - and that apathy can cost lives.”