Community Corner

Orient Still Struggling With Power, Flooding After Hurricane Sandy

The causeway is open but most Orient residents are still without power post-storm as of Wednesday afternoon.

Orient Fire Department members told Patch Wednesday afternoon that volunteers spent much of the day on Tuesday pumping out basements and just waiting for power to be restored for the majority of village residents.

With school closed on Wednesday, fire department member Andy Ruroede said he has not been contacted about any sort of formal Halloween parade for the kids this year and that kids and parents should be careful if they go out trick-or-treating in the village today.

Though the Ruroede said that poor communication conditions are still isolating the eastern Southold hamlet to some extent.

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“My cell phone is the default phone for the fire department at this point,” he said. “The power is fine at the fire house — the best way to contact us is to come to the fire house or call the Southold Police Department.”

Fire department member Burke Liburt said he spent about 10 hours helping residents pump out basements on Tuesday.

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“But when high tide many would fill up again, he said. “We’re just waiting for the water to go down.”

As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, 1,994 Orient residents are still without power, according to a LIPA outage map.

Do you live in Orient? How are things going for you? Let us know in the comment boxes below.


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