HARROWING

Tornado Rips Through Long Island Beach Club

It was the first tornado to hit the island in five years.

A tornado destroyed a Long Island beach club on Thursday evening. Videos taken at East Atlantic Beach, Nassau County, show a waterspout forming near the shoreline and moving toward the mainland, where it became a tornado. The county declared a state of emergency after the unlikely natural disaster. “A tornado touched down in Nassau County minutes ago in Atlantic Beach,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in a statement amid the storm. He also reported in Thursday’s press release that there were no confirmed serious injuries. The rare weather occurrence, which was the first tornado to hit the island in five years, damaged many of Silver Point Beach Club’s cabanas and other structures. “There is property damage at Silver Point Beach Club and Sun and Surf that is being assessed right now,” Blakeman added. “A search team has been mobilized to make sure no one is trapped within the cabanas.”