A rare tornado tore through Atlantic Beach on Long Island Thursday evening, destroying dozens of beach cabanas and causing significant debris scatter, according to officials and eyewitness accounts.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman described the event as "a blessing" that no one was killed, noting only one minor injury was reported, which did not require hospitalization. The tornado, which touched down around 7 p.m., is estimated to have destroyed approximately 50 cabanas at the Sun and Surf Beach Club.
Drone footage captured the extensive damage, showing cabana tops ripped off and debris strewn across the beach. "There were very large wooden beams that were knocked over," Blakeman said. The county executive declared a state of emergency Thursday night as a result of the storm.
According to the National Weather Service, the tornado originated as a waterspout at sea and made landfall. The sudden and powerful nature of the storm was unexpected for the area.
Club member Matthew Stark described the scene as "carnage" unlike anything he had witnessed before, even in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. "It looked like the videos you see in the Midwest of a tornado ripping through a town," Stark said.
Stark and his family were inside their cabana sheltering from heavy rain when the tornado hit. He recounted hearing and feeling a strong gust of wind that ripped the roof off their structure. "Thank God we all decided we didn't want to get wet," he added, noting that despite the chaos, he and his family sustained only minor injuries.
The heavy rainfall preceding the tornado may have inadvertently minimized the risk to life, as Stark noted the beach was largely deserted. Blakeman echoed this sentiment, stating that if the tornado had occurred "three or four hours earlier," the number of serious injuries could have been significantly higher.
While the beach club sustained damage to its cabanas, Blakeman reported that there was no other structural damage to the main club facilities. Elsewhere in Nassau County and surrounding New York City areas, the intense rainstorm caused localized flooding, trapping vehicles and leading to a home losing its roof in Stewart Manor. Some vehicles on the Southern State Parkway also stalled due to the floodwaters.