Heavy Rains Prompt Calls For Help, Art Show Evacuation In Southampton

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Sunday's heavy rains left many calling for help in Southampton.

According to the National Weather Service office in Upton, most of the region saw between 3 and 5 inches of rain. Although a higher amount was reported in East Hampton, NWS officials said they wanted to investigate that reported amount before confirming.

The Southampton Fire Department was dealing with about eight calls for flooding into residences, and some motorists driving their vehicles into flooded areas, Ryan Murphy, Southampton Town public safety and emergency management administrator, said.

"We're talking about rain water and not tidal floodwaters," Murphy said, in reference to the flooding in homes.

In addition, the Hamptons Fine Art Fair, held at the Elks Club on County Road 39 ,was shut down for safety issues due to flooding coming into the tents onsite and "impinging on electrical," Murphy said.

Stony Brook Southampton Hospital reported some minor flooding in a basement, but did not report that it was a concern or unmanageable, Murphy said.

PSEG Long Island only showed about 110 customers out of power town wide out of 50,426 in total, he added.

According to Chris Brenner, public information officer for the Southampton Fire Department, a structure fire was reported Sunday afternoon in Shinnecock Hills at 2:18 p.m. When the storm struck, fire officials were dispatched to six automatic fire alarms, 10 assists for motorists who were stuck in their vehicles in deep water, four assists to homeowners in reference to their homes being flooded, and two carbon monoxide incidents, Brenner said.

All the calls came in between 2:18 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., he added.

"The men and women of the department did an amazing job handling all the calls," Brenner said. "It was an all-hands-on-deck afternoon." 1st Assistant Chief Polis Walker and 2nd Assistant Chief Richard Fowler were in charge for the Southampton Fire Department, Brenner said.

The Southampton Fire Department reminded motorists never to drive through ponding water on the roadway.