Tropical Storm Isaias Brings Down Trees, Wires
Update, 8 p.m.: Southampton Town officials are still assessing the damage from Tropical Storm Isaias.
Police, highway and fire departments responded to dozens of calls, including non-working traffic lights, trees down onto roadways and other hazards caused by wind damage, Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said in a statement Tuesday night. There were some reports of downed lines that sparked some house fires, he added.
The town is in communication with PSEG-Long Island and there will be delays in restoring power, since it is widespread elsewhere on the island.
“We advise everyone to stay home and not travel through roadways that are scattered with branches. Please be patient as crews clear roadways. All downed wires should be treated as live wires and extreme caution is urged,” Schneiderman said.
Originally, 5:20 p.m.: Tropical Storm Isaias has caused widespread power outages on Long Island, and while there were many reports of downed wires and trees, there were few outages on the East End early Tuesday evening.
PSEG-Long Island said in a statement at 5 p.m. that outages are affecting more than 368,000 of its 1.1 million customers across Long Island and the Rockaways. Power has already been restored to 36,000 customers.
“Tropical Storm Isaias was one of the strongest to reach the service area in years, causing widespread, severe damage. Some outages could last for an extended period,” the utility said. More than 2,000 line workers, tree trimmers, surveyors and other utility personnel are addresses outages.
There were 85 customers without power in North Sea, according to the PSEG-Long Island power outage map. Elsewhere there were less than five customers affected in Shinnecock, Noyac and Montauk. On the North Fork, there were three outages in Mattituck and 20 customers affected by an outage in Westhampton.
Even still, police on both forks were flooded with calls for downed wires and trees. A tree fell onto a moving car on Sagaponack Road in Sagaponack during a time of particularly strong winds at 2:25 p.m. No one was hurt. Trees, poles and wires also fell in the area from the strong winds. Police cordoned them off as there was a long wait from utility crews.
The East End was under a tornado watch until 4 p.m., but a tornado warning was issued for Hampton Bays to Sagaponack and across the bay to Cutchogue, Southold and Greenport from about 1:45 to 2:30 p.m.
A large tree ripped a mobile home in the Riverhaven community in half when it fell down Tuesday afternoon. Police said no one was hurt.
East Hampton Town police posted on its Facebook page, “Numerous tree limbs and debris down on town roadways, please drive carefully. Town highway crews will be clearing debris as quickly as they can,” and a reminder, “Watch for downed wires and stay safe.”
Meanwhile, ocean conditions remain dangerous. Large breaking waves of 10 to 14 feet are reported with a high risk for rip currents. A rip current advisory is in effect until Wednesday at 9 p.m.
A coastal flood advisory remains in effect until Wednesday at 8 a.m.
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