Ten inches of rain and flash flooding hit the Town of Smithtown in the aftermath of Ernesto. Town officials have been assessing the damage and areas of concern.
"We were fortunate in comparison to surrounding areas, much in part due to proactive measures and recent upgrades made to infrastructure, elevated roadways, and state-of-the-art engineering at Smithtown’s most vulnerable areas. I want to commend our crews working throughout the night. Public Safety, Parks, and Highway teams have been working around the clock to clear, assess and repair the damage, in the wake of the storm, which was unpredicted by meteorologists," Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said in a Town of Smithtown news release.
According to a Town of Smithtown news release, volunteer fire departments, Fire Rescue and Emergency Services (FRES), the Office of Emergency Management, and fire marshals performed water rescues and extracted stranded drivers as they responded to emergency calls.
The headwaters of the Nissequogue crested at Paul T. Given Park on Aug. 19, a Town of Smithtown news release said. Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services and the Smithtown Planning Department worked to alleviate water conditions. The basement of the building next to the park flooded up to the first floor. Parks Department staff removed debris that accumulated under the cul-de-sac to alleviate rising waters and allow the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to inspect the train trestle. Train services had been suspended between Port Jefferson and Kings Park due to flooding from the Nissequogue River west of Smithtown.
Overflow conditions had closed Maple Avenue at Milles Pond, according to a Town of Smithtown news release. Town Hall took in close to four feet of water in its basement, with the building operating on backup power in the storm's aftermath. Flooding damaged the shop area and vehicles at the Smithtown Parks Department building in Kings Park. Approximately 50 trees in town right-of-way were either uprooted or downed, with highway crews removing them from roadways.
Landing Country & Golf Club sustained washouts and drainage issues, with damage reported on the ninth hole on the course. Whitman Hollow's bathroom area also experienced some flooding, according to Wehrheim's statement. Residents can get updates via the Town of Smithtown mobile app, which is free to download on Google Play and the App Store.