Long Island Braces as Danny Heads North
Long Island expected to get hit with 12-foot waves and 30 mph winds
By GREG CERGOL and HASANI GITTENS
Updated 5:45 PM EST, Fri, Aug 28, 2009
Tropical storm Danny isn't yet a household word on Long Island. But he has caught people's attention.
As she fished along the dock in Lindenhurst, Sylvia Curucullo said she will be bringing in her lawn furniture, umbrellas and pool equipment before the storm. Still, Curucullo insisted, "I think it will miss us, like all the other storms.”
As she sat in a lounge chair overlooking the Great South Bay, Jan Kaye proclaimed she has no worries about Danny.
“We had a tree fall on our house in Hurricane Gloria back in '85,” Kaye said. “We'll take whatever comes now.”
Long Island officials, however, aren't as blasé about the approaching storm but insist that they, too, can handle whatever Danny brings.
“Since Katrina, we have done a soup to nuts review of our emergency preparedness and we are ready,” said Suffolk county Executive Steve Levy.
Emergency preparations are underway in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. Forty-five shelters stand ready in case any evacuations are needed and everyone from Red Cross volunteers to Long Island Power Authority crews are on stand by if the storm hits Long Island.
In addition, the Long Island Contractors' Association has agreed to make 1000 pieces of heavy equipment available to Suffolk county to aid with any clean-up.
The American Red Cross is also urging homeowners to gather flashlights, batteries and emergency radios in case Long Island homes lose electricity in the storm.
For now, Danny's wrath is expected to be worst off the coast of Long Island. Officials here are predicting only some rain and possibly high wind gusts on the mainland.
Still, Nassau county's emergency preparedness commissioner said Danny remains unpredictable and will be watched closely until he passes by.
Meanwhile, New England were warned Thursday to prepare for the possibility of heavy rains and flooding this weekend as Tropical Storm Danny headed north.
The National Weather Service said the storm could develop into a Category 1 hurricane Friday, then pass about 75 miles east of Nantucket on Saturday, more than 100 miles closer than Hurricane Bill last weekend. Danny was expected to deliver wind gusts upward of 50 mph on Nantucket and outer Cape Cod, according to meteorologist Bill Simpson of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass.
"This is not as big as Hurricane Bill, but it's going to be closer," he said.
The greatest area of concern is the area from Boston south to Providence and east, Simpson said. Forecasters expect up to 5 inches of rain in isolated areas, prompting some fears of flooding. Heavy rains, but no heavy flooding, were forecast for New Jersey, while in New York, waves could reach 12 feet and winds on the twin forks of Long Island could gust to 20 to 30 mph, the National Weather Service said.
You can track Danny here, at NBCNewYork.com's storm tracker page.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
First Published: Aug 27, 2009 3:26 PM EST
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