Long Island bracing for flooding as Tropical Storm Ophelia moves north
LONG BEACH, N.Y. -- Long Island braced for flooding Saturday as Tropical Storm Ophelia moved north after making landfall in North Carolina.
The Long Beach Boardwalk was mostly empty Saturday morning and the surf intensified as the huge storm got nearer.
Check the First Alert Forecast
"I survived Sandy, but I'm old enough that I survived Hurricane Donna. That was in 1960 I believe, I lived in the west end. And that came up, flooded everything. The booths to buy the beach tickets floated in from the ocean into the bay. I don't know how it was up here, but the west end was totally underwater," a longtime Long Beach resident said.
Local and state emergency response crews are ready in the Town of Hempstead, where the storm response team is prepared to clear storm drains and remove downed trees blocking roadways.
High tide brought beach erosion to Fire Island. The coastline near Surf Road on Ocean Beach was pounded by waves. The town closed down the beach earlier in the morning in anticipation of the storm.