NORTH FORK, N.Y. — Tuesday's storm brought flooding, downed trees, road closures and other issues to North Fork — but town officials worked together to handle Mother Nature's hammering with determination, said new Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski.
According to Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley, several roads were closed Tuesday night for short periods of time while police worked with the highway department to clear fallen trees.
“We did have a utility pole on the road in East Marion list in the wind and flooding, creating a situation where the wires crossing Rt. 25 blocked one lane of traffic,” he said.
An officer was stationed at that location Wednesday to control traffic, but one lane remained open, Flatley said.
“Later this morning during the high tide cycle, we had most of our flooding,” Flatley said. “The water in the Peconic Bay was a stone's throw from the roadway on the trail at East Marion and Orient, a lot of New Suffolk was flooded in the post office area — and a lot of low-lying areas were also flooded throughout the city,” he said.
Southold Supervisor Al Krupski weathered his first storm in his new position and said the impact on the town was, thankfully, not severe. “There was no massive damage from the storm,” he said.
Highway officials are currently evaluating the remaining cleanup efforts, he said.
Krupski said he also attended his first emergency management meeting Tuesday as supervisor. “Everything went great and I was impressed by how hard the city staff, volunteers and community work together — it was really cool to see,” he said.
Looking ahead, Krupski said he and city officials are working on a flood map to pinpoint trouble spots, with an emphasis on addressing areas to ensure residents have access to different routes and can travel to alternatives. routes during a flood, rather than driving through salt water.
There are some known spots where flooding occurs regularly that are being looked at, he said.
