Late September Flooding Crosses Nassau

Nassau County and its neighbors are still recovering from record flooding late last month.
On Friday, September 29, the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia brought several inches of rain to the tri-state area, causing flash flooding that filled roadways, soaked basements, snarled public transit, and led to a number of evacuations and rescues.
Jericho Fire Department crews were notified at 4:09 p.m. on September 29 that multiple cars were stuck under the overpass on Jericho Turnpike on Route 106/107, along with on the Jericho Turnpike in the vicinity of 200 Jericho Quadrangle.
Engine 943 and Heavy Rescue 949 put operators in the water and rescued 11 people. Units on scene include Engine 943, Engine 944, Heavy Rescue 949, Medic 9499, Ambulance 946 and Fire Police unit 9411. Operations were under the command of Chief of Department Foresto and Assistant Chief Ketsoglou. That morning, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for Long Island, New York City, and the Hudson Valley, where an estimated four to six inches of rain fell. On Twitter, the National Weather Service’s New York account advised drivers to “Turn Around Don’t Drown” as conditions worsened.
Some locations even reported rainfall of seven inches or more, such as at John F. Kennedy Airport, setting the all-time record there with over eight inches. Rain continued on a mostly lighter basis into Saturday, but the majority of rainfall and major flooding had occurred in NYC and Nassau by Friday afternoon.
Numerous roads were reported closed or impassible across Nassau County that Friday, as were portions of highways in and around Nassau, such as the Long Island Expressway, the Belt Parkway, and multiple parkways in the Bronx, where some motorists were left stranded in their cars. In Brooklyn, Woodhull Hospital also had to be evacuated on Saturday after Friday’s weather damaged the hospital’s electrical systems and left the hospital running on backup generators for more than a day.
In Nassau County, some of the biggest disruptions to Long Island life happened in Baldwin and in Elmont, where sewers were overwhelmed by flood waters, and where hundreds of seniors were safely evacuated from the Elmont Senior Center, respectively. Villages across our area also reported flooded roads and basements and in some cases outages to power or internet service. In New Hyde Park, Ridder’s Pond overflowed into the park and onto Marcus Avenue, where emergency crews also worked to remove downed power lines. In Garden City Park, flooding on Hillside Ave. between Herricks and Moore Street stopped traffic back to Mineola Blvd. at one point, according to social media. In Old Westbury, Post Rd. between Wheatley Rd. and the North Service Road was closed, as was the westbound North Service Road at Jericho Turnpike.
On Saturday, September 30, Gov. Hochul said that 28 people were rescued from flood waters the previous day. No deaths have yet been reported.