Police Chief: Travel Still Dangerous on the NoFo; Causeway Closed

Winds have died down as of noon on Sunday from Hurricane Irene but the entirety of the North Fork remains littered with fallen trees, branches and down power lines — and they continue to fall with the strong breeze.

Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley advises residents to stay off the road as the state of emergency continues. He added that though flooding due to high tides and late morning storm surges was not as bad as anticipated, the Orient-East Marion causeway is closed due to breaching water as is a section of Route 25 near Port of Egypt Marine in Southold.

“We’ve got flooding in traditional low-lying areas throughout town and an enormous amount of people are without power right now,” he said, adding that National Grid working probably won’t start fixing power lines until about 4 p.m.

Flatley said that no injuries have been reported from the effects of Irene so far and that the dozens of people who took advantage of school house shelters throughout Southold are doing fine even without power.

Greenport Mayor David Nyce said that the bulkhead at Mitchell Park did not flood badly as expected during the late morning and that there is very little standing water inland. Flatley added that Eastern Long Island Hospital, located directly on the banks of Stirling Harbor, was able to stay open with no flooding.