Floodwaters at restaurant's edge after storm hits Suffolk
A powerful, fast-moving thunderstorm crossed Suffolk County Tuesday afternoon, dumping heavy rain and, in Northport, leading to lunch-hour flooding on Main Street.
The rain started in the village about noon — and by 1 p.m. “it was just flooded up to the door," said Bella Quattrone, a bartender at Salted. On the Harbor, a taco and seafood restaurant on Woodbine Avenue.
“The water was completely over the sidewalk,” said Quattrone, 25, adding, “all of Main Street and Woodbine was completely flooded.”
Whenever cars drive by, water splashes inside, she said Tuesday afternoon. “We try to barricade the doors as much as we can."
Video taken from inside the restaurant showed Woodbine Avenue looking more like a small river than a roadway as vehicles drove through the rushing water. Some inside the eatery put towels and napkins at the door to keep the flood from entering.
Flash flood warnings and flood advisories were issued Tuesday afternoon for Suffolk as the system passed over the county before heading northeast across Long Island Sound.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Northport Mayor Donna Koch said the village is seeking state and federal grants to address drainage issues that have historically plagued the low-lying harborfront area, as higher surrounding streets drain into the basin at the foot of Main Street and Woodbine Avenue.
Four rain garden areas are being planned to help absorb rainwater runoff, Koch said.
But she said new drainage systems are really what’s needed to divert water higher up on the surrounding streets.
“It’s always happened,” she said. “We get one storm a year in the village where we get this torrential downpour and flooding. But this is our second or third this year — and it causes havoc for about a half hour . . . It’s the topography of the area and I don’t know if the storms are getting worse or more frequent or if we’re just more aware of what’s going on."
She added, “We’re trying to get on top of it. But, it is mother nature.”
Tuesday's weather system, loud with multiple thunderclaps, dumped heavy rain across Northport as well as in Huntington, Centerport and other North Shore communities.
Sunny skies were forecast to return Wednesday, with sun on Thursday as well. Thursday night will be partly cloudy with a low of 70.
There is a 30% chance of showers on Friday.
With John Valenti
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