Nassau 'Not Home Free With Coastal Flooding' As Nor'Easter Dies Down: Exec

MINEOLA, NY — In a briefing Sunday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that while the region is through the worst of the nor'easter there is still some concern for roadways that are flooded or blocked by fallen trees and wires, and the coming high tide along coastal areas.

"There are no casualties and no major injury as a result of this storm so far," he said inside the ceremonial chambers of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in a broadcast by News 12. "However, it is not over."

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"While the wind is dying down and the rain will just be trampled compared to what we've had the last couple of days, the ground is saturated with water," he said. "That means the roots are loosened. It doesn't take much for a tree, especially one full of leaves, to fall over."

"So please be aware, be observant, and if you see a downed tree, report it immediately," he said. "Call 911, and we will have somebody there immediately to deal with it."

He also advised residents not to touch downed power lines, to assume they are charged.

He expects more downed power lines and trees over the next day.

"The winds right now, while they are dying down, they still will be sustained winds of 20 miles an hour, and they make us up to 30 or 40 miles an hour," he said. "There is another band of the storm, a weaker band, but still another band that could hit later this afternoon into the early evening. We will continue to have light to moderate rain into tomorrow morning."

PSEG was reporting around 5,400 power outages as of 9 a.m., but workers are "diligently "making repairs "now that the wind has died down," he said.

"They cannot go up in their buckets to repair power lines above ground if the winds are above 30 miles an hour," he said. "So that's going to slow them down a little bit."

There was "more coastal flooding" Sunday morning at high tide along the South Shore in East Rockway, Island Park, and parts of Massapequa, Oceanside, and the northern side of Long Beach.

It still has to be monitored, especially at the next one Sunday at 9 p.m.

"We will have high tide throughout most of Nassau County, and at that time there will be more coastal flooding because the wind and the rain have driven the water into our bays and our channels, and as a result, they are receding slower than normal," he said.

"We're not home free with the coastal flooding," he added. "I want to emphasize again that we're not out of it, we're not out of danger completely, but certainly we've gotten through the worst of it."

Commissioner Patrick Ryder reported there was higher than normal activity last night, especially with motor accidents, according to Blakeman, but overall he believes the county will be back to normal by Monday night.

Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, who also attended the news conference, said there are about 100 homes in his town without power.

"The biggest problem we're seeing is street flooding and trees that are down on our wires," he said.

The town has seen about 75 trees down, mostly in Massapequa, which was hit the hardest, some in Jericho, Plainview, and Bethpage.

He advised residents to stay away from downed wires, and to keep their cars parked in elevated areas, and also expressed concern about coastal flooding, especially in areas like Bayville

"We so appreciate the Nassau County Police Department, all of our firefighters, our emergency responders, Town of Oyster Bay Department of Public Safety," he said. "And I echo the feelings of my colleagues in government, including Supervisor John Peretti in the Town of Hempstead, and Supervisor Jennifer DeSena in North Hempstead, we thank Bruce Blakeman for your leadership and all the assistance of your teams."

"Be careful, be vigilant, and stay safe," he said.