Flooding damages homes

“Everything is destroyed,” Washington Boulevard resident Cliff Steinberg said on Monday afternoon, assessing the damage in his basement. Gone were his wife’s collection of historic vinyl records, left to her by her grandfather, and Steinberg’s downstairs office was wrecked. Outside, debris and damaged furniture lined the curb.

Steinberg estimated that the damage caused by Sunday’s torrential, unrelenting downpour and the flooding that followed — which he said left 3 feet of water in his basement — will cost him upward of $10,000.

“The only frustration I have is that there’s no insurance — I thought I was covered,” he said. “I’m talking to a lot of people around town and hearing the same thing.”

Steinberg was just one of many residents of Long Beach, Lido Beach and other nearby towns who faced the sobering aftermath of storms that dumped up to 10 inches of rain on the city. The all-time single-day rainfall record at John F. Kennedy International Airport was eclipsed by more than an inch and a half, with a total of 7.8 inches. Rainfall totals for Nassau County ranged from 5 to 11 inches. Lido Beach recorded 10.87 inches.

“The bulk of it fell in the early-morning hours on Sunday, but the rain didn’t stop for 24 hours,” said Chris Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service. “This is about two months of rainfall. You could have this much in a hurricane.”

Service on the Long Island Rail Road was suspended in both directions on the Long Beach and Far Rockaway branches on Sunday due to flooding and signal problems, but was restored by Monday morning. Flooding also forced the closure of parts of the Meadowbrook, Southern State and Wantagh state parkways. The Loop Parkway and portions of Lido Boulevard were closed for most of the day, and the storm made driving along local streets treacherous.

“Cabs would only go to destinations between Lido and Hempstead Park to the Atlantic Beach Bridge,” said Long Beach resident Peter Thoung. “No off-island service.”