2010-03-14 04:38:01 - Power Outage - USA EDIS CODE: PW-20100314-25323-USA
Date & Time: 2010-03-14 04:38:01 [UTC]
Area: USA, State of New York, Staten Island, Damage level: Heavy (Level 3)
Affected person(s): 32000
Not confirmed information! Description: One out of every six houses and buildings on Staten Island lost power. Uprooted trees crushed cars and smashed into homes, while the police received so many 911 calls about fallen branches that they had to bring in additional operators. And the Staten Island Ferry, which has been hearty enough to weather tropical storm patterns and last month's snow squalls, was forced out of service for several hours. Staten Island may well have caught the worst of the savage Nor'easter, with 60-plus mph winds and heavy rains ripping through trees and power wires throughout the evening. As of 11:18 p.m., almost 32,0000 Con Edison "customers" -- the company's shorthand for any house, building or multi-unit development it services -- had lost power. That's more than the other four boroughs combined, and almost 17 percent of the company's customers here. At 5:30 p.m., with sustained winds on the water reaching 50 knots, or 57 mph, the city suspended Staten Island Ferry service, benching the boat docked at the Whitehall terminal and recalling a boat that had just left the St. George terminal. The city restored ferry service at 9 p.m. Brett Anderson, a meteorologist with Accuweather, said winds averaged around 60 mph, tapering off toward the end of the evening. And with a month's worth of snow melting into the ground, the trees just couldn't handle the pressure. "The ground is so saturated and bloated with moisture that the roots can't find anything to grab onto," Anderson said. Con Edison had initially estimated that power would be restored by 10 p.m. last night, but as more outages cropped up across the Island, that time was pushed back to 3 a.m. today. "The main issues, of course, are the rain and wind driving trees down on the lines," said Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury. Staten Island was hit particularly hard, as was Westchester County, because electricity here is supplied through overhead power lines, he said. Overall, he said, the storm caused twice as many outages in New York City and Westchester as the snowstorm that hammered the region on Feb. 25 and 26. Regarding the estimated restoration time, Drury said, "As jobs file up and work piles up and difficulties pile up, those ETAs could get pushed back."
But the blackouts weren't all Staten Islanders had to contend with. Residents across the Island complained of flood waters pouring into their basements and homes, particularly in neighborhoods near the water, like Oakwood Beach, as well as trees falling on cars, roads and rooftops. "If you come down my block, get ready to swim, that's how bad it is," said Chris Corulla, of the 200 block of Fox Lane in Oakwood Beach, "I have 3 fallen trees on my property, " said Jim Bavoso of Patterson Avenue in Midland Beach. "Shingles are all over the street, what a mess. This is one of the worst storms I have seen in years!" Firefighters scrambled across the Island, extinguishing fires that had cropped up as a result of sparking wires and fallen power transformers. At Staten Island University Hospital's Prince's Bay location on Seguine Avenue, a 20-foot section of a stucco facade collapsed, leaving exposed cinder blocks, girders and pink insulation. A hospital spokesman said no one was injured, and the structural integrity of the building was not affected. Hospital officials cordoned off the main entrance to the building, directing patients to enter through the emergency room. Water filled the basement of two North Shore churches -- Calvary Presbyterian Church on the corner of Bement and Castleton avenues in West Brighton, and Bethel Assembly of God Church at 910 Jewett Ave. in Meiers Corners. Firefighters said rushing storm water overwhelmed a corner storm drain and catch basin at Calvary Presbyterian, and the force of the rushing water blew the cap off the church's basement water trap. That resulted in a steady, forceful stream of water and debris pouring into the building, and by 4 p.m. the basement, which contains a gymnasium, kitchen and hall, was flooded with more than four inches of water. The church was forced to cancel a bridal shower that had been booked for the basement hall. When church officials called 311 to report the problem they were told there would be a six-hour wait before crews from the city's Department of Environmental Protection could respond.
"Six hours is just unacceptable," said Charles Auer, president of the church's board of trustees. "Basically we're acting as the city's psuedo-sewer system." At the Tea Room in the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield, wind blew a door open with enough force to push it into a large window wall and shatter it. "We had it fixed in half an hour," said Richard Nicotra, the hotel's owner. In Tottenville, flood waters inundated the Coral Bay Cafe on Rocakaway Avenue, forcing the owner to shut down and wait out the storm. "We're definitely underwater. I would say there's about two to three feet in the place," said Paul DiCristina, the restaurant's owner. "It came up slow, and as high tide came in, we realized, forget about it." Fallen and dangling trees forced officials to block off several stretches of Hylan Boulevard, notably the southbound lanes by Guyon Avenue and Kingdom Avenue. At Hylan Boulevard and Holton Avenue, road flares diverted motorists from driving beneath a dangling tree.
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20:38 | 
Publicado por
NEWS
