NEW YORK | City braces for possible evacuations/effects of Irene

[NYguy]

NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/nyregion/new-york-region-prepares-for-hurricane-irene.html
New York Region Prepares for Hurricane Irene

By JAMES BARRON
August 25, 2011

With Hurricane Irene threatening a full-force hit, New York City on Thursday ordered the evacuation of nursing homes and senior centers in low-lying areas and made plans for the unprecedented shutdown of the entire transit system .

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said the city was ready with “evacuation contingencies” for low-lying areas like Coney Island in Brooklyn, Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan and parts of Staten Island and the Rockaways in Queens — areas that are home to 250,000 people. He said the city was ordering nursing homes in those areas to evacuate residents beginning at 8 a.m. Friday unless they receive special permission from state and city health officials...

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NY1
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/1...acuated-before-hurricane-irene-s-arrival

Mayor Orders "Most Vulnerable" New Yorkers Evacuated Before Hurricane Irene's Arrival

By: NY1 News

City officials will decide by 8 a.m. Saturday whether evacuations are needed for residents of the city's low-lyings areas, such as Battery Park City in Manhattan, Coney Island in Brooklyn, the Rockaways in Queens and some parts of Staten Island.

This comes as Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency this afternoon in advance of Hurricane Irene's arrival.

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Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/08/...ty-bloomberg-weighs-evacuation-decision/

Bloomberg Weighs Evacuation Ahead of Hurricane Irene


Mayor Michael Bloomberg watched Thursday as a New York City work crew cleared a storm sewer in Queens ahead of Hurricane Irene’s arrival.

By Michael Howard Saul
August 25, 2011

Bloomberg emphasized Thursday that he has the power to both recommend and force evacuations, but said the city will only order an evacuation in the worst circumstances. Asked how the city might enforce an evacuation, the mayor replied: “The worst case, if they didn’t leave…they could die.”

The latest forecasts show Hurricane Irene reaching the New York area on on Sunday as a Category 2 storm, but there remains significant uncertainty around its ultimate path. “Anything can happen in terms of its direction and its severity,” Bloomberg said.