Prelude to Sandy: Strong Winds and Flooding Starts [Photos]

Downed trees and wires, power outages, street closures and some flooding were seen around Malverne, West Hempstead, and Lynbrook Monday afternoon even though Hurricane Sandy is still hundreds of miles from landfall.

The constant blaring of sirens could be heard throughout the communities as local firefighters and police responded to several calls including one on Rolling Steet in Malverne near Nassau Boulevard and Robertson Road in Lynbrook, where electric wires had fallen. (Click here for an update on outages in the area.)

Several large branches had already been pulled down throughout all three communities including one that blocked traffic in the southbound lane of Hempstead Avenue in Malverne and another that shut down Vincent Place in Lynbrook. 

A large downed tree was resting on a power line on Hawthorne Street in Lynbrook, which was also closed. Other trees were down on Ackley Avenue in Malverne and Woodfield Road near the corner of Pinebrook Avenue in Lakeview. If you know of any other downed trees, fallen wires or street closures, post about it in the comments section below.

The traffic signals at the "Little Five Corners" -- the intersection of Hempstead, Franklin, Hendrickson and Lakeview avenues -- went out and the Gulf gas station lost power too.

Although there were no signs of flooding in Malverne, West Hempstead and Lynbrook, Bay Park in neighboring East Rockaway was already under inches of water (see video above), which was rising onto the streets and nearby residential properties.

Multiple homes and business in all three communities had taken steps to secure their properties by reinforcing windows with tape and plywood, and bracing trees that could potentially fall with rope.

About a dozen evacuees including some from Long Beach and the Five Towns were taking shelter inside West Hempstead High School, which is being operated by American Red Cross as the area's only kosher shelter.

Click through the images above to see photos from around the neighborhood Monday. To upload your storm photos (Be careful taking them!) to our gallery, follow these steps.

1. Log into Malverne-West Hempstead-Lynbrook Patch (create an account if you don’t have one)
2. Click on this article
3. Click on the “Upload Photos and Videos” button above
4. Upload your photos and videos
5. Add a caption

Related Stories: 

• Hurricane Sandy: Long Island Live Blog
• Nearly 200 Lose Power As Hurricane Sandy Closes in
  
• UPDATE: Mangano Orders Mandatory Evacuation for Storm Surge Zones Ahead of Hurricane
• 10 Ways to Use Patch During Hurricane Sandy

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