Village Concerned about Sandy's Potential Flooding

The Village of Lindenhurst continues to monitor Hurricane Sandy, and is concerned about the possibility of a storm surge.

Storm Surge Concern
"We don't know the track yet," Deputy Village Administrator Doug Madlon told Lindenhurst Patch this afternoon. "But the biggest concern is the storm surge since the 29th is a full moon and high tides in October are the worst."

According to the latest forecast on Friday, Sandy - aka "Frankenstorm" - is predicted to eventually make landfall at the New Jersey-Delaware border, and could still bring extreme weather to Long Island.

The forecast currently calls for Long Island to get between four and six inches of rain with the South Shore possibly seeing more. In addition Long Island has a 30 to 40 percent chance of getting tropical storm-force winds between 39 and 73 mph.

"If we get six or seven inches of rain and we flood at high tide, there's no where for the water to go. We need to wait until the tides go out. So we're quite concerned," Madlon said. "We have a lot of low-lying areas, especially near Venetian Shores, South of Shore Road and down in the Marina (Lindy Docks)."

During Irene last year Lindenhurst was walloped, with the Docks torn apart and flooding in each of the aforementioned areas.

The Village Prepares
To ensure Lindenhurst is ready for this scenario and any other storm scenario that unfolds in the next couple of days ahead of Sandy, Village officials met on Friday afternoon with the emergency manager for the Village, Ray Fais, and officials from the Lindenhurst Fire Department, Suffolk Police First Precinct, Department of Public Works, Code Enforcement and Lindenhurst School District.

"We're waiting to see, but everyone's on the same page, there's good communication in place, and everyone is ready to deal with the storm," Madlon said, who noted Mayor Tom Brennan is now back in town and ready ahead of Sandy.

"The fire department is ready. The DPW is gassed up and on alert. Code Enforcement is ready and knows what to do. Inspector Gigante and the police are there to help as much as possible. School officials are aware, and know the concerns, especially with [the location of] Harding Avenue Elementary School," he continued.

Madlon said what the mayor and the Village decide to do in terms of precationary measures depends on the severity of the storm.

He also said while no decisions have been made about possible evacuation due to Sandy, it's been discussed.

"Everything is on the table now, but no firm decisions have been made yet," he said, noting the Village is ready for any and all post-Sandy clean-up, too.

Should there be an evacuation Madlon said the Village has options in terms of setting of an evacuation center for residents.

During Irene the Lindenhurst High School served as a temporary evacuation center, but the schools were still in Summer recess. The schools are in session right now, so the Village might look to use the Rainbow Center.

Monitoring and Meeting
However, again, with Sandy not expected right now until Monday, Madlon said the Village is tracking the storm with no firm decisions made yet.

And in the meantime the Village will continue to meet with all of the aforementioned parties this weekend as Sandy approaches to make sure its emergency preparedness plans and people are in place.

Related:

• Suffolk County Opens Emergency Shelters Sunday Morning
• LIPA: Customers Should Prepare For Possibility of Extended Outages
• Hurricane Sandy: Suffolk County Exec Declares State of Emergency
• What You Need to Know for Hurricane Sandy
• Share Storm Photos Here: Lindenhurst Resident Photo of the Day
• Lindenhurst Village Concerned about Sandy's Potential Flooding 
• Tracking Hurricane Sandy: Guv Declares Emergency
  
• Red Cross Urges Long Islanders to Get Ready for Sandy Now 
• Lindenhurst School District 'Vigilant' Ahead of Sandy
• Babylon Town Prepares for 'Frankenstorm'
• Lindenhurst Village Eyes Hurricane Sandy
• Repairs to Lindenhurst Docks Are Complete
• Hurricane Sandy: Another Perfect Storm?

Receive updates to this story and other breaking news in your inbox or smartphone by signing up for our newsletter here.