The Long Island Express, otherwise known as the Hurricane of 1938, was a category 3 hurricane when it made landfall. It swept away communities, flooded New York City, and cost between 600 and 800 lives. An article on sewage contamination of oyster beds on NPR’s The Salt brought coincided with my finding this article about contested title over oysters that had been displaced by the hurricane of 1938.
New York Times, Nov. 1, 1938.