Residents of a low-lying, flood-prone village in Rockland County had a series of close calls Monday afternoon during high tide, managing through sudden flooding due to the coastal surge.
The village was hit hard overnight.
The storm temporarily took out power and made Sparkill Creek overflow twice.
Josie Fallurin made it to her first day of work at Bon Vivant Patisserie and Cakery on time, though Monday morning's high tide made it difficult.
"I drive by and there's already water already up and open. So that was scary, coming to work," she said, adding that the geography is conducive to flooding. "The thing about Piermont, especially if you go up around that hill, it's steep."
Her one other concern Monday was the afternoon high tide, which ended up being higher than the morning's.
Whenever high tide is expected to make creek levels extra high, store clerk Lazarus Berisha knows which spots to watch throughout the day.
"There's a bridge over there where water could overlap and flood," he said in an interview two hours before high tide, "but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm praying it stays like that."
By 3 p.m, the creek had plumped up just enough to block a section of Paradise Avenue, flood the village's D parking lot and flood at least four backyards.
No injuries or major damage have been reported.
By 5 p.m., the flooding had begun to subside.