Tornado Rips Through Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, Damaging 30 Cabanas
ATLANTIC BEACH, N.Y. — A tornado tore through an Atlantic Beach beach club Thursday evening, damaging and destroying dozens of cabanas, injuring a worker and prompting a massive emergency response as severe storms swept across Long Island’s South Shore.
Several fire departments responded to the Sun & Surf Beach Club at 2191 Bay Boulevard at approximately 7:12 p.m. for reports of severe wind damage, according to Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro.
First responders arrived to find extensive damage, with an estimated 30 one-story cabanas damaged or destroyed and debris scattered throughout the property.
A beach club employee suffered minor injuries but declined medical treatment. No other civilian or first responder injuries were reported.
The Inwood Fire Department activated a Level 2 major response involving Nassau County Technical Rescue Teams to search the damaged structures and ensure no one was trapped.
Approximately 200 firefighters from 13 fire departments responded alongside multiple police units. The incident was brought under control within approximately one hour.
The Town of Hempstead Building Department responded to assess the structural damage. Additional storm damage was reported at the nearby Silver Point Beach Club.
The tornado struck as the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for southern Nassau County, warning that a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Atlantic Beach or Long Beach and moving northeast.
The storm also caused significant flooding across portions of Nassau County’s South Shore, prompting emergency responses for motorists potentially trapped in vehicles.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman declared a State of Emergency Thursday night and activated the county’s Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the response to storm damage and flooding.
While Nassau County and fire officials described the storm as a tornado Thursday night, the National Weather Service had not yet formally confirmed the touchdown.
Blakeman is expected to hold a news conference at the Sun & Surf Beach Club at 8 a.m. Friday to provide an update.
