Parts Of Long Island Dealing With Flood Waters From Nor'easter
BABYLON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Flooding continued to be a problem on Long Island Tuesday, a day after a nor'easter slammed the Tri-State Area with high winds and heavy rain.
Drone Force 2 flew over the strong coastal system that contributed to high-tide flooding, keeping some from going to work or school.
Streets were flooded in Babylon Tuesday morning, where the water could be seen up to the garages and front doors of several homes. On Grant Street, some residents were unable to drive away due to two feet of water on the roads.
Schools in Babylon and Bay Shore also had delayed openings.
"My street was flooded," one student told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.
Backwater streets, particularly those along South Shore canals and bays, were especially hard hit. Fortunately, there was no major home or basement flooding – but the street flooding was severe enough for many.
Freeport resident Yolanda, who lives in the area of South Ocean Avenue and Adams Street, said every time it rains, it floods.
"When I got up at 6, it was a lake," she told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria. "It's a lake."
Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said the solution is to install ocean gates just like ones in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
"They've had them in Stamford since 1964 and they're working fine. In New Bedford, they're up there for 50 years," he told 1010 WINS' Car D'Auria. "They've never had a flood since they installed them."
In communities along the Great South Bay south of Montauk Highway, sophomores at Bay Shore High School were worried about midterms.
"The storm gives us a chance to like stay inside and really like buckle down," one girl said while enjoying breakfast at a local diner.
"Last night, I couldn't fall asleep because the wind was like hitting my windows," another said.
At Fire Island National Seashore, some inland flooding was reported as officials checked on isolated residents, and state parks officials surveyed erosion from Jones Beach to Montauk.
"Here at Robert Moses State Park, we lost about 80 to 90 feet of sand along the shoreline," said New York State Parks spokesman George Gorman. "That is considerable, but we had plenty of sand and it will not affect beachgoers come the summer."
In Lindenhurst, resident Tom Vassiliou sprang into action before 5 a.m. knocking on his neighbor's doors and warning them the street was very flooded and they better move their cars.
"I was kind of being the valet today for the flood," he told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall.
Water also flooded a large area of Riverhead's downtown business district. Residents said the flooding is as bad as they've ever seen it.
"Honestly it's been quite a while since I've seen anything like this," a man named Richard told WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs.
Several vehicles were also left stranded in a flooded parking area.
Suffolk County officials said the worst of the flooding was confined to South Shore backwater streets along the bays and canals, because rain amounts fell short of expectations.
Meanwhile, PSEG crews spent the morning clearing downed power lines. At the height of the storm, 24,000 Long Islanders experienced outages.
