Long Beach Battles Hurricane Irene

The Long Beach lifeguard station on National Boulevard beach was knocked off its foundation and slammed into the boardwalk early Sunday morning as Hurricane Irene pushed ocean water through the beach berms, under the boardwalk and onto the city streets.

As 75 mph winds hit the barrier Island, Long Beach residents told Patch before high tide at the 8 a.m. hour that their streets were already flooding.

"The storm drain in front of my house is filled to capacity and we still have two hours until high tide," said Joanne Rea, who lives on Connecticut Avenue at West Park Avenue, on the bay side in the West End.

Rea said after the high tide that her basement was flooding and her sump pump was not working fast enough.

Keith Collins reported to Patch just after 6 a.m. that he walked to the boardwalk at Grand Boulevard and the flooding had already started.

"I...noticed that the southwest corner of Grand and Broadway has started to take on water from under the boardwalk," Collins wrote.

He said that when he got on Grand boardwalk he noticed that the ocean water on the beach had breached a berm that was created the day before just east of the snack stand on that beach.

Rea and Collins were among the Long Beach residents who remained in the city despite Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano's order that all residents living south of Sunrise Highway to evacuate to higher ground by 5 p.m. Saturday.

Rea decided to stay home because she can't bear to stay at a shelter, and while she considered going to a hotel, since all of her relatives live on the water south of Merrick Road, she couldn't find a hotel that she could afford.

She said she is used sandbags and hauled everything she had outside into her basement, bought four cases of water and taped her windows in anticipation of the storm.

Meanwhile, West End resident Nicole Pelletiere was among those who heeded Mangano's mandate to evacuate the city. She actually already made plans to leave to stay at her boyfriend's family home in Lake Grove.

"I wish we could stay in the comforts of our own home, but watching the news and seeing the slight panic around here made me nervous," said Pelletiere.. "Boarding up our windows felt almost surreal. We made the decision to leave even before the evacuation was issued mandatory. There's nothing more important than the safety of yourself and your loved ones. Better safe than sorry."