A storm hits, but not the storm

Baldwin and the rest of Long Island dodged a bullet named Hurricane Joaquin last week, but the weather over the weekend remained rainy and raw, and many in the area took precautions in case of flooding.

“Prepare for the worst and hope for the best” was the phrase most uttered by officials as well as residents, who took time for tasks such as buying extra batteries and gassing up vehicles.

Doug Wiedemann, secretary of Sanitary District 2, said his department spent much of last week moving equipment to have it at the ready, and filling up tanks. “We’re making sure everything is fueled up,” he said. “We do the fuel for a couple of fire departments.” A Shed the Meds event took place on Saturday, as planned.

But Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams canceled a flea market scheduled for the Baldwin LIRR station because of the weather. An aide said that the lawmaker and his partners in the event, Affinity Health Plan and Glory House Recovery Inc., feared that the wind would prove to be too much for vendors’ tents and a bouncy house for kids. The event was rescheduled for Oct. 10.

School officials, too, had taken steps to prepare for inclement weather. Cristina Schmohl, spokeswoman for Baldwin schools Superintendent Shari Camhi, said the district had activated its emergency response plan and custodians were checking and securing school buildings.

At St. Christopher’s School, Principal Anne Lederer said she was mostly concerned about power outages and surges, and that she planned to be careful to turn off computers and other electrical devices for the weekend. “We’re an all-stone building,” she said, “so other than being concerned about the electrical products, [like computers], maintenance makes sure everything is locked up.”

Jerry Brown, of the Baldwin Fire District, said his crews were putting gas in fire trucks and ensuring that extra supplies, such as oxygen, were on hand. “We’re getting extra chains for the saws and blades for the saws,” he said, adding that a new rescue boat and a high-water rescue truck, two items that were not available when Hurricane Sandy hit, were being prepped.

The worst of the bad weather was over by late Saturday, with only minor street flooding in the area, and PSEG reported a few scattered power outages. Sandy-hardened residents went about their business. One woman posted a photo of a flooded-out sinkhole near her home on a Sandy-related Facebook page.

“BTW, the street flooding,” she posted. “Around here, we call that ‘Thursday.’”