Learning from Irene, Residents Take Precautions for Sandy

When Hurricane Irene barreled through Nassau County in August 2011, she took down nearly 100 trees in the village of Malverne alone.

Some landed on vehicles but "five fell on houses," Paul Jessup, head of the Malverne Department of Works, told Patch while overseeing the exhaustive clean-up effort.

To avoid being a statistic when Hurricane Sandy touches down, a number of homeowners in Malverne took a proactive approach Sunday and hired landscapers  to give their trees major trimmings, focusing on removing branches hanging above power lines. Patch also saw one motivated West Hempstead resident attempting to do the job himself.

Others spent Sunday at the grocery stores, stocking up on food and essentials. Cross Island Fruits on the Lynbrook-Malverne border was even busier than usual.

Most of the local gas stations also had lines stretching through the parking lot and in some cases, backing up traffic on the street, as drivers fueled up in preparation of the storm.

Many residents also made last-minute trips to their banks to get cash from the ATMs in case a power outage renders their debit and credit cards useless.

In addition to these precautions, here's more suggestions from the Nassau County Auxiliary Police Unit 116 on how you should prepare for the approaching storm.

How are you preparing for Hurricane Irene? Tell us in the comments section below or post a photo.

Patch has been tracking Hurricane Sandy all weekend. Click here for the latest update.

Related Stories:

• Mangano Orders Mandatory Evacuation for Storm Surge Zones Ahead of Hurricane
• 10 Ways to Use Patch During Hurricane Sandy
• NCAP Asks: Are You Prepared for Sandy?
• Tracking Hurricane Sandy: Guv Declares Emergency
• Frankenstorm Spooks Long Island Tweeters

Get "Patch-ed" in! Stay informed on what's happening in your community throughout the storm and its aftermath by signing up for breaking news alerts and following Malverne-West Hempstead Patch on Facebook and Twitter.