Nor’easter Brings Flooding, Power Outages from New Jersey to Maine
All Client Alert
October 28, 2018
Source: The Weather Channel
Additional Resource: NOAA Coastal County ZIP Code List (Northeast region)
NOTE: This has not yet been declared a FEMA Disaster.
Areas from New Jersey to Maine saw street flooding and power outages as a nor’easter raked the coast on Saturday.
Tens of thousands of customers lost electricity at various times as powerful winds knocked over trees and downed power lines.
In Middletown, New Jersey, four people had to be rescued from a car caught in deep water on Wilson Avenue, the Asbury Park Press reported.
“As we went along, the waves were coming in,” passenger Abby Cimmino told the newspaper. “Then we thought we could reverse out of it. But when the water started coming into the car, we opened the windows up and sat on the windows.”
Firefighters used a large military truck to drive into the water and rescue the four people.
Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard continued searching for a man who reportedly fell overboard earlier in the day from a container ship, the Northern Jaguar, in New York’s Ambrose Channel. The 35-year-old man was arranging a pilot ladder in rough seas.
The strong winds blasted cars in along the coast in Massachusetts, with wet sand, leaving them looking as if they were covered in snow.
In the village of Freeport, New York, several feet of water flowed along the Nautical Mile, Newsday reported.
“It’s the highest amount of water we’ve had since Sandy,” Mayor Robert T. Kennedy told the newspaper.
In other parts of Long Island, several streets were flooded in Island Park, and one intersection was flooded with 3 feet of water, the National Weather Service said. Downed trees caused hundreds of power outages on Long Island.
The Peconic River spilled over into a park in Southampton, submerging cars and rising to the top of picnic tables, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman told Newsday.
The Long Island Rail Road suspended the Long Beach Branch in both directions between Valley Stream and Long Beach for several about two hours because of flooding on the tracks near Island Park Station.
WNBC in New York reported that speed limits were dropped to 35 mph on the Goethals Bridge from Staten Island to Elizabeth, New Jersey, and the Outerbridge Crossing from Staten Island to Perth Amboy because of high wind and rain.
All northbound lanes of FDR Drive were closed from East 80 Street to East 96 Street because of flooding.
In New Jersey, Hoboken Terminal was flooded and several train platforms were under water.
Tidal flooding also threatened homes in Ventnor City, and the Dorset Avenue Bridge there was closed, according to the National Weather Service.
Several houses were flooded in Manasquan, and one person had to be helped from a home. A number of roads in the town were closed. Coastal flooding also was pushing water toward homes in Tuckerton Beach and Sea Bright, and they lapped at buildings in Avalon and Stone Harbor.
The Asbury Park Press reported tidal flooding in Point Pleasant, Long Beach Township and Little Egg Harbor, along with downed trees throughout Ocean County.
WABC-TV reported that the powerful wind gusts knocked down trees and power lines in Warren Township, New Jersey. Downed trees closed all lanes State Highway 50 in Estell Manor.
The Ocean City-Longport Bridge was closed, and police were directing motorists to the Atlantic City Expressway. Numerous streets and highways were closed for hours at a time.
In Connecticut, the Fairfield Fire Department helped evacuate residents of Fairfield Beach Road, according to the Register Citizen. A number of shorefront roads in Westport were closed because of flooding.
The newspaper listed these communities as having minor flooding problems: Bridgeport, New Haven, Milford, Stratford, West Haven, East Haven, Branford, Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, Madison, and Westbrook.
Two ferry lines that travel between Connecticut and New York across Long Island Sound canceled some Saturday service, the Hartford Courant reported. The Bridgeport-Port Jefferson ferry suspended all trips from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
More than 8,000 customers lost power in Maine because of the storm, the Associated Press reported.
