Floodwaters Crash Onto Rockaway Beach As Sandy Rages
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Rockaway Beach was on the list for areas of New York City deemed Zone A for evacuation purposes, and by Sunday night, Hurricane Sandy had sent the floodwaters rising.
As CBS 2's Jamie Yuccas reported, Yuccas was knee-deep in brown, foamy water as she stood on the Rockaway Beach each late Sunday night. The water was funneled through two areas where sand breakers were located and pushed its way toward 137th Street.
Residents couldn't believe they were seeing the effects so soon.
For many, it was a slap in the face that Sandy would be incredibly bad.
Murphy said he expected the surge "maybe tomorrow at some point, but this is definitely a surprise."
He came to the beach to fill sand bags, and "just as I was doing it, the surge came up, so you can see I got soaked from the water, and as you can see, I've been soaked from the waist down."
Officials warned Rockaway residents earlier in the day to evacuate.
"A lot of preparation has gone into this time," said state Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens.) "We've got the shelters. They've got to go."
But many planned to stay.
"I've got a generator. I have 30 gallons of gas," said Chris Campana. "I'm a diehard."
Zone A includes the following areas of New York City:
• Coney Island, Manhattan Beach and Red Hook and other areas along the East River in Brooklyn;
• All of the Rockaways, as well as Hamilton Beach and Broad Channel in Queens;
• Almost all of the coastline of Staten Island;
• City Island, a small patch of Throgg's Neck, and another patch of the South Bronx in the Bronx;
• Battery Park City and stretches of the West Side waterfront and of the Lower East Side and East Village in Manhattan.
A total of 375,000 people live in Zone A alone.
Have you witnessed the wrath of Hurricane Sandy in Rockaway Beach? Leave your comments below...
