By Mike Schnitzel
A flood warning issued by the National Weather Service had been lifted as of Monday morning.
"Overall there has not been any significant damage reported," said Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Director of Planning Terry Winters, on Monday. "We are still worried about the high tide cycle this evening though."
Winters said that Freeport had some street flooding as a result of water rising over the bulkheads and the parking lots of some North Shore beaches had been flooded. Bayville was the hardest hit community, and Mayor Victoria Siegel issued a voluntary evacuation order for low-lying areas.
"There were some homes in Bayville that took water in their basements and there was flooding in the streets, but it's nothing they haven't dealt with before," Winters said.
The National Weather Service said that 5.5 inches of rain fell in the New York area on Sunday, breaking the record rainfall of 1.8 inches set in 1906. Central Park saw a total of 7.81 inches of rain and 6.9 inches fell at LaGuardia Airport.
LIPA spokesman Bert Cunningham said that 18,500 homes lost power on Long Island, most of them on the East End. "We did relatively well in Nassau County," Cunningham said. "The storm did not hit as hard as everyone had anticipated."
Cunningham said that LIPA had thought 40,000 to 50,000 customers would lose power based on weather projections from Saturday night. According to Cunningham, 89 percent of customers who lost power had it restored within four hours, Cunningham added.
According to Fourth Precinct spokeswoman Robin Webb, the area saw a "higher than normal" rate of accidents as a result of hazardous conditions from the rainfall. There were 16 accidents on Sunday in the precinct area, as opposed to the normal six to eight, Webb said.
Three shelters were set up in Nassau County as a precautionary measure, but no one took refuge during the storm, and they had closed by Monday morning, Winters said. The shelters were at Memorial Junior High School in Valley Stream, Locust Valley High School and Glen Cove High School.
Damage assessment teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were deployed throughout the Northeast to help support state emergency operations and make damage assessments, according to a FEMA press release. The release also said early state reports indicated that 100,000 people in the Northeast were without power as of Monday morning.
The FEMA Web site suggests the following actions be taken immediately following a flood in your area:
n Listen for news reports to learn whether the community's water supply is safe to drink.
n Avoid flood waters; water may be contaminated by oil, gasoline, or raw sewage. Water may also be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines.
n Avoid moving water.
n Be aware of areas where floodwaters have receded. Roads may have weakened and could collapse under the weight of a car.
n Stay away from downed power lines, and report them to the power company.
n Return home only when authorities indicate it is safe.
n Stay out of any building if it is surrounded by floodwaters.
n Use extreme caution when entering buildings; there may be hidden damage, particularly in foundations.
n Service damaged septic tanks, cesspools, pits, and leaching systems as soon as possible. Damaged sewage systems are serious health hazards.
n Clean and disinfect everything that got wet. Mud left from floodwater can contain sewage and chemicals.
Anyone who may need financial assistance following a flood can call (800) 621-FEMA. For more information, you can visit the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov.
Richard Tedesco contributed to this story. Comments about this story? Mschnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
