Pounding rain floods LI roads, strand motorists

Pounding rain that hit Long Island late Sunday night flooded roadways, caused power outages, and left some motorists stranded in their vehicles, authorities said.

Nassau County police said early Monday morning that there were no motorists still stuck in their vehicles.

Just under two inches of rain had been recorded at the National Weather Service's Islip station. Forecasters said light rain would continue all day.

There were also scattered power outages across Long Island, with 2,004 Long Island Power Authority customers without power, down from nearly 6,600 last night.

The areas with the most outages include North Hempstead (895), Hempstead (346) and Oyster Bay (280).

The flooding also caused at least 100 people to be evacuated from a Herricks neighborhood after part of a basement wall of one house collapsed, rupturing a gas main.

Jim Callahan of the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management says an 8-foot wall section collapsed after midnight Monday. He says the collapse also affected a water main.

Callahan says gas service has been shut off to the area.

Callahan says 15 to 20 other houses have water in the basement, and a total of 30 have been evacuated.

He says crews are trying to determine which homes are safe enough for residents to return to, and the Red Cross is on the scene to help anyone who might need shelter.

Shortly before 10 p.m. last night, Nassau County police closed the Long Island Expressway from Searingtown Road, Exit 36, to Glen Cove Road, Exit 39, due to flooding. Police in both Nassau and Suffolk counties reported street flooding in other areas as well.

"It will go away, but it's a little heavier than normal," said Officer Joan Eames. "Normally the LIE doesn't flood in that area."

The state Department of Transportation Sunday night was reporting flooding on the Northern State Parkway eastbound at Exit 28, Willis Avenue, and that the exit was closed.

Eames said police responded to calls from several motorists on the closed stretch of the LIE who had become trapped in their vehicles by the rising waters.

They were also responding to a similar call from a motorist caught in floods on Roslyn Avenue in Mineola, she said.

Viviane Kovacs, 54, of Searingtown, said the street in front of her home on Crescent Drive was submerged Sunday night at about 11:30 p.m. and that a fire engine whose crew had come to rescue someone stranded in a car had itself become stuck in a neighbor's yard.

"It's a huge pond covering at least two people's lawns," Kovacs said. "This water won't subside until the town comes in the morning with a major pump. It's not going anywhere."

 With The Associated Press