Fire Island cleans up after flooding, erosion during nor'easter

FIRE ISLAND, N.Y. (WABC) -- Residents and business owners on Fire Island spent Wednesday cleaning up after the nor'easter flooded entire streets and caused moderate property damage.

Ocean Beach was puddled with freezing cold water, remnants of massive flooding as the nor'easter swept through.

At one point, Main Street was under two feet of water.

The town mayor says this sort of flooding has become more of a common occurrence since the destruction left in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

"Most of the water is due to the fact that we need new bulks, new dockheads," Mayor Jim Mallott said. "Which we're working with FEMA on."

But amazingly, most of the businesses had little to no water come inside their front doors.

"No water got in here, nope," said Rob Weber, of CJ's Restaurant. "Just came to the top of the door, that was it."

"Just a little trace," Castaway Restaurant's Jon Randazzo said. "But still, no water is good water, that's for sure."

Down by the water, you can still see the strong surf that is coming in. The concern for people who live in the area is the erosion, as the water is getting closer to the homes.

The Ocean Beach police department said it was getting calls from those on the island asking about flooding during the storm, since the police station is next to the bay.

Still, the storm halted all passenger and freight service on the Fire Island Ferry. It resumed Wednesday.

About 100 people are permanent residents on the barrier island off the South Shore of Long Island. They were stranded there during the storm.