[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1758-E1759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WHAT HAPPENED IN WESTHAMPTON BEACH?

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 18, 1998

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, seven new inlets between Moriches Inlet and 
Quogue village line were created when the ocean broke through the 
dunes. Many dune houses were carried off their foundations, were broken 
in pieces, and were washed into Moriches Bay, or cast up on the 
Mainland. This was also the fate of the Moriches and the Potunk Coast 
Guard Stations. People in those beach houses, those fortunate enough to 
cling to roofs, or able to swim, were tossed up on the Oneck section of 
the village, or on the golf course. Of about 179 dunes homes, only a 
few remained, and those were lift in uninhabitable condition. Other 
areas of the village which were particularly badly hit were Beach Lane, 
Stevens Lane, Main Street, and Library Avenue.
  The West Bay Bathing Beach (Swordfish Club) was destroyed. The 
Rogers' Beach Club (Rogers Pavilion) was badly damaged. The Quantuck 
Beach Club was washed away, and its clubhouse was later found one mile 
directly north on a Quogue lawn.
  The south end of the West Bay Bridge (Swordfish Bridge) was torn off, 
rendering it useless. The golf course was littered with wreckage from 
the beach. The Westhampton Yacht Basin was a shambles, with many work 
and pleasure boats either sunk, or up on the dry land.
  Storekeepers and customers were taken by surprise, when a wall of 
ocean water, pushed by a storm surge, reached a height of six feet on 
Main Street. The water carried debris from the dunes with it. The first 
floor classrooms at the Six Corners School were inundated to a depth of 
nearly five feet, and many windows were blown in. Some two hundred 
children were in the school building as the storm approached. They were 
dismissed, and left the school unharmed, just in time.
  All waterways and canals rose to unbelievable heights. Waves broke in 
Beaver Dam Creek, rose over Montauk Highway, and flooded Cook's Pond. 
Many village residents fled to higher ground, to the airport, or to 
Riverhead.

[[Page E1759]]

  The Patio Building quickly became a storm emergency headquarters, and 
the Westhampton County Club was used as a temporary morgue. Twenty-nine 
people drowned. Breakdown of electricity, telephone and train service, 
water shortage and break off of telegraph communication, helped create 
deep distress in the village.

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