North Shore cleans up after powerful storm

Many without power, trees and branches downed

Posted

Tropical Storm Isaias, a swift-moving tempest that slammed Nassau County on Tuesday, knocked down more than a thousand trees and some 338 electrical and phone wires, County Executive Laura Curran said at a news briefing Wednesday morning.

No fatalities were reported, Curran said.

As crews and residents of Oyster Bay were cleaning up after the storm, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said through social media that the town would pickup fallen branches and tree limbs left at the curb. He said it should take about a week to collect all the debris.

“There is no need to pay someone to cart them away,” Saladino said. “With much damage town-wide, we ask that you bear with us as we clear the debris.”

And with many that continue to be without power throughout the town, charging stations and cooling centers have been made available at the Ice Skating Center in Bethpage and Marjorie Post Park in Massapequa. Both will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from August 5 to 6.

Businesses bore the brunt of the storm. Ryan Schlotter, the president of the Oyster Bay–East Norwich Chamber of Commerce and the founder of the Oyster Bay Brewing Company, said many businesses throughout the area lost power at 3 p.m. As of press time, the brewery had regained power. But because the storm diminished his phone service, he was unsure about the other chamber members.

“We closed the brewery [on Tuesday] because the power didn’t go back on,” Schlotter said. “But it came back on this morning, which is great, so we’re operational today.”

The absence of electric also shut off traffic lights across the North Shore, causing Nassau County Police Department officers to direct traffic.

In Bayville, floods did not impact the area as they usually do during storms like Isaias, but the region had power outages, downed trees and eight fires caused by fallen wires.

“The east end of Bayville has its power back,” Bayville Deputy Mayor David Wright said. “The west end is still out. The damage from the storm was extensive — a couple of transformers down. There were a lot of wire fires that the Fire Department had to respond to. I haven’t heard of any injuries, except for property damage of course.”

Wright is asking residents to remain patient and find a place to cool off if their power is still out.

Thirty county crews worked through the night and into the morning Tuesday into Wednesday, removing fallen trees and storm debris from county roads, which, Curran said, were mostly passable.

There was relatively little rain, but the storm brought sustained winds in the 30- to 50-mph range, with gusts in excess of 70 mph, which caused some trees to fall onto homes.

The county reported 135,000 power outages as of Wednesday morning, Curran said. At the peak of the storm, there were some 435,000 outages across Long Island, and Curran criticized PSEG for what she described as a lack of communication during the storm, saying that customers were unable to get through to the utility to report downed wires.

A message on the PSEG website stated that people could report outages in four ways: “Text OUT to PSEGLI (773454), report it online, through our app, or call 800-490-0075.”

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, PSEG reported the following:

“Tropical Storm Isaias was one of the strongest to reach the service area in years, causing widespread, severe damage. Some outages could last for an extended period. Strong winds and hazardous gusts downed trees, branches and wires, currently affecting more than 368,000 of our 1.1 million customers across Long Island and the Rockaways. We have already restored power to more than 36,000 customers.”

The storm shut down the Long Island Rail Road throughout the afternoon. A message on the LIRR site stated, “LIRR service is suspended system wide due to high winds and hazardous conditions caused by Tropical Storm Isaias, including fallen trees, downed utility poles and power outages. We will resume service as soon as conditions safely allows.”

At press time on Wednesday, a statement on the railroad’s website said that trees and utility poles were being removed from tracks and that repairs were being made.

Forecasters had predicted two to four inches of rain Tuesday afternoon, but Isaias tracked farther west, unleashing its heaviest rain in New Jersey and upstate New York. The storm’s outer rain and wind bands lashed Long Island, where there was much less precipitation total. The storm also hit during low tide, reducing flooding in low-lying areas.

For assistance with downed trees in the Town of Oyster Bay, call (516) 677-5350.