Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine signed a state of emergency declaration today following “catastrophic” rainfall that caused an estimated $25 million in damage across the county, particularly along the north shore.
Romaine signed the declaration in Stony Brook, where rains caused the collapse of the Mill Pond Dam which “wiped out” Mill Pond, he said. The water from the pond, in turn, wiped out a road, which collapsed as rushing water undermined the soil under the pavement.
The state of emergency declaration will help expedite federal and state emergency relief to property owners. The flooding damaged dozens of homes in the area.
Town and county officials are gathering information about flood damage during the Sunday night-Monday morning storm that dumped more than nine inches of rain in some parts of Suffolk County.
People who experienced flooding damage to their homes or businesses are asked to complete an online survey form to assist state and local officials identify damages for the purpose of developing requests for federal assistance, Riverhead Town said in a press release.
The form is a survey only, and not an application for relief programs.
The survey form can be accessed at this link:
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/4f19503f107e4541acfc552514c0dbaa
This completed form is sent directly to New York State.
Riverhead was not hit as hard by the storm as other places along the north shore of Suffolk.
MORE COVERAGE: After overnight downpours, flooding has receded in most areas, and all local roads are open
Some north shore beaches in Riverhead were battered by the overnight downpours.
There was “very severe” erosion on the beach at the end of Edwards Avenue, Town Engineer Drew Dillingham said. The erosion affected both town-owned property and private property, he said.
Erosion at Roanoke Landing threatened to undermine a jetty west of the road end, Dillingham said. The town had to work today to shore up the jetty so the rocks would not topple over, he said.
Reeves Beach, which suffered severe erosion earlier this year that threatened the stability of the gazebo there, remained in good shape landward of the outfall pipe that releases stormwater collected along Park Road. The engineering department conducted emergency repairs at the site after the Jan. 9 storm that caused a washout that undermined the bluff around the gazebo.
“It is a miracle, because nothing above the outlet of the pipe was damaged,” Dillingham said. “Everything was intact.”
The beach itself was a mess, with gullies and ravines carved out by the rushing water, Dillingham said. Town workers went onto the beach with a backhoe and quickly graded the surface of the beach.
Workers would do the same at Edwards Avenue, he said.
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