Community Corner

Residents Search for Power in HHH

As of Tuesday morning, about 4,400 LIPA customers in Dix Hills and Melville are without power.

As of Tuesday morning, there are still 4,400 residents in Half Hollow Hills who are reading by candlelight, taking cold showers and packing their milk in the last bags of ice they can find.

The numbers are an improvement from Monday night when about 6,000 residents were without electricity.

Many in Dix Hills lost power at about 6 a.m. on Sunday when Tropical Storm Irene hit. Residents in Melville were mostly unaffected, but phone lines and Internet connections are still troublesome.

Those without power have been seeking refuge with family and friends and finding places to power up around town.

At the families have been coming in to charge their phones, laptops and take advantage of the wifi.

“People have been plugging in all day,” Rita Gross, a librarian said. While the library’s phones and Internet are out, librarians have been manually checking out books and movies, and children are enjoying the computer games. Across the street from the library, kids ran around the fields of Sunquam Elementary School enjoying the fresh air.

Find out what's happening in Half Hollow Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Laura and Don Miller of Huntington Station have been without power since 8 a.m. on Sunday. “I saw the trees hit the wires and then the street went pitch black,” Laura, who was taking advantage of the Melville library’s electricity on Monday said.

“I took a cold shower this morning and we barbecued last night. I don’t want anything to spoil or go to waste so I’m getting everything on the grill as fast as I can,” she added.

Betty Haugland Hibler was also worried about spoiled food. "Using the grill and concerned about the stuff in the fridge and freezer ... no ice to be had near me," she wrote on Facebook.

Howard Kaplan who lives in the in Melville did not lose power at all, but had his son and grandson, who live in Hunters Run come stay with him while electrical outages marked much of Long Island.

LIPA has been working around the clock trying to get power back up for its customers. An estimated time of recovery is set for noon on Tuesday for those in Huntington, but most areas, like Dix Hills and Melville, do not have an estimated restoration time.

Find out what's happening in Half Hollow Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We’re crossing our fingers,” Heather Kurash, 13, and Sydney Katerina Kahn, 8, who were charging their lap tops and phones at the library said.

About 523,000 customers across Long Island lost power during the storm. As of 9 a.m. on Tuesday, that number was down to 253,000. There are still 270,000 without electricity. The power company says it hopes to have everyone restores by Friday.


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