A state of emergency has been declared on Long Island in the wake of "catastrophic" flooding responsible for destroying roads, damaging cars and displacing hundreds from their homes in the middle of the night.
Town and county officials are still assessing the full scope of the damage in Suffolk County, but early estimates are already in the tens of millions thanks to overnight rainfall totals close to 10 inches. Check rain totals here.
Preliminary reports suggest rainfall rates of up to 3 inches an hour were recorded in the area. A flood warning remained in effect for the county through Monday afternoon. Check the latest active alerts here.
Some of the most dramatic damage was pinpointed to Stony Brook, where intense flooding caused the collapse of Harbor Road around 3 a.m. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico documented some of the destruction on social media. The "well-traveled" road, he said, connects Brookhaven Town to Smithtown.
"The entire Mill Pond at Avalon emptied across the now collapsed roadway," he posted to Facebook.
A team of town and county officials joined Executive Edward Romaine Monday morning, where the Suffolk County lawmaker declared the state of emergency in a plea to obtain state and federal aid money to help with recovery efforts.
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STORM UPDATE
— Suffolk County Executive Edward Romaine (@ExecEdRomaine) August 19, 2024
Suffolk County was significantly impacted by the remnants of Ernesto overnight. I have spent the morning surveying damage and will officially sign an order declaring a State of Emergency shortly. Please stay tuned for further updates. pic.twitter.com/CGJ0JMI8QA
Weather
Romaine described a widespread and devastating blow to the county. Countless homes took on water, leading to untold destruction of personal property, he said. At nearby Stony Brook University, roughly 150 students were displaced and were in the process of securing temporary housing.
"I am signing a declaration of emergency, which hopefully will get some aid to our locals business and homeowners," Romaine told reporters.
Teams of inspectors and surveyors will be out all day evaluating the damage and assessing the scope of the devastation. They'll be looking into reports of widespread damage, including homes that have reportedly fallen into sinkholes.
"The north shore has been ravaged," Panico said at the press conference. "We're thankful that there was no loss of life, that is the most important thing."
Brookhaven Town residents and business owners are encouraged to seek help by calling 631-451-TOWN.
Early rainfall totals were highest in places like Miller Place and Stony Brook, with the latter seeing about 7 inches of rain in just three hours.
Suffolk, Nassau counties
| Miller Place | 9.84 inches |
| Stony Brook | 9.40 inches |
| Commack | 8.82 inches |
| Smithtown | 7.67 inches |
| Hampton Bays | 6.27 inches |
| North Massapequa | 4.20 inches |
| Bethpage | 3.05 inches |
*National Weather Service, New York
