Flooding Fears Spark Terror in Hashamomuck Cove Resident

For years, Southold resident Lynn Laskos and other Hashamomuck Cove residents have lived in fear that one pounding storm could result in a life-threatening breach on County Road 48.

Today, blizzard conditions and high tides, coupled with a full moon prompted the National Weather Service to issue a coastal flood advisory. Flooding is expected for tonight’s high tide cycle at midnight, with tides expected to be two to four feet above normal on the North Fork.

Residents who live in coastal flood prone areas have been asked to pay close attention to Saturday night’s high tide.

For Laskos, the news triggered heightened fears.

“With midnight approaching the residents of Hashamomuck Cove are nervous about flooding and the potential of County Road 48 washing out,” she said.

The concerns persist, even though they have been working closely with the United States Army Corp of Engineers who, only last week, assured Laskos that they are making “great progress” and are far along with the report after a study of the area, with the hope of unveiling the full-draft feasibility report by March.

“Unfortunately, we fear that we have run out of time. Today, massive waves and large debris piles were pummeling bulkheads, and waves were crashing over our homes. We need to keep our fingers crossed and get through these dark hours till the next high tide. Morning will tell all. County Road 48 is used by all. We should all be concerned.”

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell echoed concern: “The area is under threat as a result of years of erosion, and, during a storm like this, is very vulnerable to flooding.” The supervisor said town officials would survey the area while evaluating several vulnerable areas Saturday night.

As far back at 2013, there was only about 10 feet of sandy bluff protecting the major roadway from the Long Island Sound at high tide.

The vulnerable residential area dodged a bullet with Hurricane Sandy, Laskos said.

“We were bruised but not damaged — others had it 10 times worse than us,” Laskos said. “But we got lucky again.”

The Suffolk County Legislature voted in May of 2011 to appropriate $100,000 to plan and design protection for County Road 48 in the Hashamomuck Cove area. The initiative was spearheaded by then-Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced after Sandy that funds had been earmarked to finance a feasibility study of the area before work could begin.

Laskos said at the time that she was happy for the funding but said she’d rather see shovels than another study.

Laskos is head of the Hashamomuck Cove advocacy group and a member of SoutholdVoice, a local group of property owners and business people concerned about the shoreline.

Though Route 48 was not breached during Hurricane Sandy, if the water broke through, there would have been no way to evacuate portions of the North Fork — including Eastern Long Island Hospital — with a large section of Route 25 also underwater.

Laskos has been calling for a long-term solution in the area for years after what was her parents’ home at the time washed away in 1994. She and other local representatives held a press conference accusing state officials of dragging their heels in funding a feasibility study which would look into preserving four shoreline areas in Southold.

“On a good day,” Laskos said, the water rises on the beach, bringing it only 12 feet from County Road 48. “If we have one more storm, that road is going,” she said. “Our homes are now the only buffer to County Road 48.”

Should Route 48 become compromised and impassable, gas service and water mains could rupture due to erosion and crashing debris, Laskos said. “That means the last eleven miles of Long Island will have no gas and no water.”

Other critical concerns include difficulties for emergency vehicles, which would have to detour and lose valuable time; a lack of access to services; and police and fire departments that would be unable to respond.

Other potential impacts, Laskos said, could mean seniors being stranded and left with no access to services.

Laskos has become a voice for her neighbors, sounding the call for action about a situation that grows more critical with every passing storm. And, she added, damage is far less expensive to mitigate now, before further erosion ensues, and before Route 48 is wiped out by a fierce storm. “Time is of the essence,” she said.