Rough weather blamed as surfer dies off Rockaway Beach (click title to entry for videos at Newsday site - thank you)
November 12, 2009
By CARL MACGOWAN
carl.macgowan@newsday.com
As the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida threaten to wreak havoc on Long Island's coastline Friday, the system is already being partially blamed in the death of a surfer in the waters off Rockaway Beach.
The unidentified 36-year-old man's leg strap attached to a surfboard became tangled and the rough surf pushed him toward a jetty, officials said. Emergency medical technicians attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital.
With winds forecast to gust up to 35 mph and rain expected to fall all day, Nassau and Suffolk officials closely watched the storm Thursday as it crawled up the East Coast after drenching the Carolinas.
Freeport and Nassau County emergency management officials said they were ready to evacuate residents from low-lying areas south of Atlantic Avenue if conditions worsen....
