Long Island’s Sun and Surf Beach Club remained closed Saturday, two days after it was ravaged by a tornado.
On Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service, an EF-1 tornado tore through Atlantic Beach in three minutes, leaving a path of damage about one-third of a mile long.
Club operators say one-third of their 115 cabanas were either damaged or destroyed. Crews were seen taking away storm debris by truck Saturday. Other damage left behind included downed wires and a car with broken windows.
Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt.
Sun and Surf’s sister club, Silver Point Beach Club, was spared during Thursday’s destruction and reopened Saturday morning.
“We have the beach to ourselves, and it’s a nice day and we’re catching fish and, you know, all is good,” Silver Point member Denis Iderman said.
Iderman said he was relieved after receiving an email Friday afternoon saying that the club sustained little to no damage.
“Quite surprising, quite shocking, wasn’t expecting that,” Iderman said. “I don’t think anyone expected it.”
“You’re like, ‘No, that can’t happen here,’ but it did,” Silver Point member Elia Cortes said. “Mother Nature is always surprising us, right?”
