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

[Expat]

Glenn Beck said Irene is a blessing.

Those pics above freak me out.

[Dac150]

Those GCT shots are unreal.

[HHH]

From the National Hurricane Center's 5 pm advisory:

MORE SO THAN WITH MOST STORMS...THE WINDS WITH IRENE INCREASE SHARPLY WITH HEIGHT ABOVE THE SURFACE. AS IRENE MOVES THROUGH AREAS WITH HIGH-RISE STRUCTURES...THESE STRUCTURES WILL EXPERIENCE WINDS SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER THAN INDICATED BY THE ADVISORY INTENSITY. WINDS AT THE 30-STORY LEVEL WILL LIKELY BE 20 PERCENT HIGHER THAN AT THE SURFACE...AND WINDS 80-100 STORIES UP COULD BE ABOUT 30 PERCENT HIGHER THAN AT THE SURFACE.

[speedy1979]

Now would be the perfect time to pay a visit to the observation deck of the empire state building.

[Dac150]

Monday should certainly be interesting . . .

[NYguy]

^ At least Monday is predicted to be nice weatherwise. Subway service may not be back to normal however.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/27/new.york.irene.scene/

In a quiet New York, sandbags and overturned trash cans


New York's Union Square sits empty on Saturday ahead of Hurricane Irene's anticipated landfall.

By the CNN Wire Staff
August 27, 2011

New York City, that land of hustle and bustle, took on a new character Saturday: Quietness, punctuated by bursts of activity.

The imminent approach of Hurricane Irene made for some mighty unusual scenes.

Long lines were common at grocery stores as residents stocked up. But streets appeared empty just a couple blocks away.

"Once you get outside major hotel areas it gets quiet pretty quickly," said Dan Pinter, a sales associate at New York Running Company, an athletic shop near Central Park in Manhattan.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/27/storm-irene-energy-idUSN1E77Q0B220110827

NY braces for blackouts as Irene cuts Southeast power

By David Sheppard and Selam Gebrekidan
NEW YORK, Aug 27

New York City braced for potentially widespread blackouts as Hurricane Irene churned up the East Coast on Saturday, after leaving almost 1 million people without power in U.S. coastal states further south.

East Coast oil refineries, pipelines and fuel terminals curtailed operations to ensure safety. The U.S. Coast Guard shut the Port of Philadelphia, an oil shipment hub, but kept the larger hub at New York Harbor open for now.

Utility firms warned of more outages ahead, with Consolidated Edison considering pre-emptive blackouts on Sunday in flood-prone downtown Manhattan, including on Wall Street.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-27...storm-as-it-hits-new-york-on-sunday.html

Hurricane Irene May Remain Category 1 Storm as It Hits New York on Sunday

QBy Brian K. Sullivan
Aug 27, 2011

Hurricane Irene is expected to go ashore near the border of Nassau County and Queens at about 9 a.m. tomorrow, threatening some 80,000 homes worth more than $35 billion with storm surge, forecasters and analysts said.

Irene may still be a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of at least 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, when its center makes landfall on its way toward Canada, said Tim Morrin, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Upton, New York. The storm, packing as much as 20 inches of rain, will hit near the time when tides are high across much of the region, according to published tide tables.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/nyregion/new-york-city-begins-evacuations-before-hurricane.html

With Hurricane Irene Near, 370,000 in New York City Get Evacuation Order


A sign along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway near the Battery Tunnel advised New Yorkers to evacuate to safety

By JAMES BARRON
August 26, 2011

Mr. Bloomberg said electricity could be turned off in some parts of Lower Manhattan and in other low-lying areas to avoid more severe damage from flooding, but he added that no decision had yet been made.

On Friday, city officials issued what they called an unprecedented order for the evacuation of about 370,000 residents of low-lying areas...

He added that residents should also “plan on the possibility of no power downtown.”

A Con Ed spokesman, Alfonso Quiroz, said that the pre-emptive shutdown could allow workers to restore electrical power more quickly once the storm has passed.

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http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/201...-hurricane-irene?chromedomain=fieldnotes

New York City readies snow plows for Hurricane Irene


Department of Sanitation workers attach plows to garbage trucks in preparation for Hurricane Irene as the storm approaches New York on Saturday

Meredith Birkett writes

Keith Mellis, a spokesperson for the Dept. of Sanitation for New York City, says the plows are for moving debris. They are being added to trucks as a precaution in case Hurricane Irene leaves debris behind that needs to be quickly cleared to make way for emergency vehicles.

In a press conference by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, two staging areas are prepared for equipment and personnel that are moving in from other areas of the state. One thousand workers and 100 dump trucks, excavators, backhoes along with trailers of water and food are expected.

Long lines of city buses wait in line for the bus depot near Broadway and 215th St., after the shutdown of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's mass transit system as Hurricane Irene approaches New York on Saturday, Aug. 27. They are pulling all of the buses off of the city streets and into garages, which many drivers said they had never seen before. These unusual steps are part of the reason why the MTA needed 8 hours to fully shut down the system.



The 215th St. subway station sits empty in northern Manhattan after the shutdown of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's subway system as Hurricane Irene approaches in New York on Saturday, Aug. 27. Threats of severe flooding from the storm resulted in the mandatory evacuation of 250,000 people, the cancellation of over 9,000 flights and the first weather-related complete shutdown of the city's mass transit system.


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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44271560/


Framed by the Manhattan bridge and lower Manhattan, a U-Haul truck makes it's way north on the FDR Drive in the torrential rain, Aug. 27, in New York.




Turnstiles are barricaded with caution tape shortly before the New York City Subway system suspended service for the first time ever, as preparations are made for Hurricane Irene



A worker places plywood on the windows of a home as he and other workers secure it against the winds of Hurricane Irene on Aug. 27, in Water Mill, N.Y.



A man fills sand bags at 128th Street beech in the Rockaways, N.Y., in preparation for Hurricane Irene.



Police walk through an area which is under mandatory evacuation orders in the Rockaways, N.Y, in preparation for Hurricane Irene



Arseni Flax, center, and his mother Nelly wait for their subway train to leave as they bring along their parakeets while evacuating the Coney Island section of New York, Aug. 27.



People shop at a Hurricane Irene fashion sale in the town of Amagansett, N.Y. on the east end of Long Island



Lifeguard Steve Thompson patrols the beach on Aug. 27, in Montauk, N.Y., as Hurricane Irene approaches.



Milk refrigerators sit almost empty at a Target store as New Yorkers stock up on supplies in preparation for Hurricane Irene in Queens, New York on Friday night.



People crowd a Whole Foods store in Manhattan before the arrival of Hurricane Irene on Friday in New York City.



Ambulances wait to transfer patients out of Coney Island Hospital as evacuations began in low-lying parts of New York on Aug. 26.



Customers stand in line outside a Home Depot in Springfield, N.J., on Aug. 26. More than 50 people put their names on a wait list for a rumored shipment of generators.

[speedy1979]

I'll probably have to walk to work on Monday.

[Tadd]

I'm doubting the significant impact of Irene. The newsies are playing it up but according to the wundermap weather icons on Wunderground It wasn't even 50 miles per hour winds when it hit the beaches of NC. Nothing compared to what I remember in FL 2004. I moved to Raleigh from Orlando in 2006. Here in Raleigh we were supposed to see 50mph winds HERE. Hah. Nothing happened. It was a thunderstorm that lasted a lot longer than normal but nothing like 50 miles per hour. The local on-line weather stations on Wundermap recorded some 25mph winds.
I'm feeling silly about getting rope to tie down my garbage pails and lawn stuff. (no garage here).

Wunderground founder Jeff Masters says that the sustained winds were at 50 when the storm hit the beaches. He also says this:
A storm surge of 3 - 6 feet is expected near Atlantic City, NJ Sunday morning, during the time of high tide. With 15 - 20 foot waves expected on top of this storm surge, there will be tremendous damage to the coast and low-lying structures. Storm surge is also a major concern for New York City. The latest NWS forecast is calling for a 5 - 8 foot storm surge in New York Harbor, which would easily top the flood walls protecting the south end of Manhattan if the storm surge occurs at high tide. High tide is near 8 am Sunday morning. A research storm surge model run by SUNY Stonybrook predicts that water levels at The Battery at the south end of Manhattan will peak at 2.2 meters above Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) at high tide Sunday morning, which would be about six inches below the top of the flood wall (which is 5 feet above mean sea level.) Waves on top of the surge would likely spill over the top of the floodwall in this scenario, and cause some flooding in southern Manhattan. Andy Revkin's Dot Earth blog has links to a storm surge animation for New York City done by the SUNY Stonybrook group. Climate Central has a nice satellite image showing which parts of New York Harbor are below five feet in elevation. Storm surge heights of up to eight feet are predicted in Western Long Island Sound, and 3 - 6 feet along much of the New England coast from New York to Massachusetts. This is going to be a damaging coastal flooding event for this stretch of coast, though perhaps not as damaging as the one New Jersey will experience.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Tadd

I'm doubting the significant impact of Irene. The newsies are playing it up but according to Wunderground It wasn't even 50 miles per hour winds when it hit the beaches of NC. Very lame. I'm in raleigh and we were supposed to see 50mph winds HERE. Hah. Nothing happened. It was a thunderstorm that lasted a lot longer than normal but nothing like 50 miles per hour. The local on-line weather stations on Wundermap recorded some 25mph winds.
I'm feeling STOOOpid about getting rope to tie down my garbage pails and lawn stuff. (no garage here).

Well, good for you that you are ok. We're talking New York City, things are very different, and the storm continues to be a threat. People would be very foolish to just assume things are going to be ok. There's a reason the saying goes "better safe than sorry".

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http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011...days_if_it_has_to_be_cut_off_con_ed.html
Power could be shut off for up to three days if it has to be cut off: Con Ed



BY Kathleen Lucadamo AND Jonathan Lemire
August 27th 2011

Electricity to lower Manhattan — including Wall St. and the heart of the nation’s financial industry — could be turned off by Sunday morning and may take three days to restore, Con Edison officials revealed.

All buildings south of the Brooklyn Bridge and more than 6,500 customers could lose power if the streets in lower Manhattan flood due to Hurricane Irene's driving rains and powerful storm surge.

"Salt water and electricity do not mix well," said John Miksad, a senior vice president at Con Ed, adding that the power would not be turned off preemptively.

View of Manhattan from Greenwood Heights

[animatedmartian]

NYC is now under a Tornado Watch. Streets of Times Square are empty and have been for most of the day.










http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/?cam=fridays

[Thundertubs]

This isn't a wind event, it's a rain/flooding/storm surge event, and it's going to be serious. Forget wind speed, it's more about how large and exceptionally slow-moving the storm is. A lot of water is going to get dumped on us. The ground around here is already saturated from August's heavy rains. It is soft and trees can uproot easily. River flooding is going to be a major problem, even far inland.

[animatedmartian]

It's looking that way. I think Bloomberg said that the salt water would be the biggest problem for the underground power lines. That's in addition to flooded subways and low lying areas being submerged. It's gonna be a rough night for NYC and indeed the entire north east.


Hurricane IRENE@NYC 110827 17:00 by eguchishintaro

[jd3189]

I feel bad. This was suppose to hit Florida,but ricocheted north. As if the earthquake wasn't enough of a threat.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Thundertubs

This isn't a wind event, it's a rain/flooding/storm surge event, and it's going to be serious. Forget wind speed, it's more about how large and exceptionally slow-moving the storm is. A lot of water is going to get dumped on us. The ground around here is already saturated from August's heavy rains. It is soft and trees can uproot easily. River flooding is going to be a major problem, even far inland.

That's exactly right. Let's hope the flooding isn't as bad as predicted.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/nyregi...-bus-and-wet-feet.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

An Evacuation of Low-Lying Areas by Yellow Cab, Bus and Wet Feet


Jennifer O'Hanlon, left, Jose Bermudez and their daughter, Nyla Bermudez, waited for a ride in Brooklyn.

By MICHAEL WILSON
August 27, 2011

It was as if one huge new and very bad neighborhood appeared overnight in New York City.

Zone A.

This area, once housing sought-after properties with waterfront views, now deemed at risk of flooding, became blighted with red marks on a map — from Battery Park to Coney Island to Staten Island’s south beaches — as Hurricane Irene approached with agonizingly slow menace.

Fleets of yellow cabs roamed the streets for evacuees. The wheels of suitcases crunched against pavements. Hammers pounded nails into plywood. Neighbors wished one another well with film-noir sardonic farewells: “See you later, if we survive.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/nyregi...tay-put-as-irene-nears.html?ref=nyregion

Many Rockaway Residents Ignore Warnings and Stay Put

By COREY KILGANNON
August 27, 2011

Despite well-publicized warnings that the Rockaway peninsula in Queens was under a mandatory evacuation alert, many people there, particularly public housing residents, defied the order on Saturday and insisted upon riding out the storm at home.

“I’m not taking this lightly, but a flood can only do so much,” said Laquan Bostick, 22, who lives in a ninth-floor apartment in the Beach 41st Street Houses, a New York City Housing Authority complex, with his mother.

Mr. Bostick said his mother left and urged him to come with her. But he declined, and instead bought food, batteries, ice and even vitamins, to wait out the storm. “I feel comfortable staying here,” he said. “It’s better than being put in some school turned into a shelter.”

Mr. Bostick, a student at Nassau Community College, acknowledged that he wanted to see the storm first-hand, and that having the apartment to himself gave him a chance to invite over his girlfriend, who lives nearby.

[animatedmartian]

Irene Makes Landfall in Coney Island as a Tropical Storm

By KEVIN DOLAK, OLIVIA KATRANDJIAN and COLLEEN CURRY
Aug. 28, 2011
http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricanes/hurr...nings-issued-york-city/story?id=14397661

Hurricane Irene made landfall in Coney Island, N.Y. at 8:45 a.m. as a tropical storm with winds at 65 mph and severe rainfall.

It was interesting watching CNN where Anderson Cooper was in Manhattan where it was calm and lightly raining then they'd turn to John King who was on Long Beach getting pounded by the winds. It was also pretty crazy to see water that was pretty much in Battery Park and level with most of the shoreline around Lower Manhattan. Definitely if this storm came in as a strong Cat 1, it would have caused more flooding with stronger winds.

But I'm getting carried away, there's still New England flooding going that's going to take a while. Hope everyone made it out okay and hope NYC gets back to normal soon.

[NYguy]

The storm is being followed by beautiful weather for the rest of the week, which many people consider to be the "last" week of summer, so that's great news...


http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/h...l-storm-Irene-floods-New-York/50161760/1

Tropical storm Irene floods New York

By Carolyn Pesce and John Bacon, USA TODAY

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm Sunday morning as it made landfall over New York's Coney Island with winds clocking 65 mph.

The north tube of the Holland Tunnel, which carries traffic from New York City to New Jersey, has been closed due to flooding.

Rainfall overflowed sewers and seawater lapped at sidewalks at the edges of New York City. Seawater cascaded toward Wall Street which has a labyrinth of cables and pipes beneath it and has been fortified with sandbags.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/nyregi...ctrical-shutdown.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

New York Wakes to Hurricane Irene


Rising tides began to breach the sea wall near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn causing closures along the Belt Parkway early Sunday morning.

By JAMES BARRON
August 27, 2011

While New York had all but closed down in anticipation of what forecasters warned could be violent winds with the force to drive a wall of water over the beaches in the Rockaways and between the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan, as of early Sunday morning, all bridges and tunnels remained open, with the exception of the lower level of the George Washington Bridge because of high winds, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

On the Jackie Robinson Parkway, three feet of water blocked all lanes, state and city officials reported. Floodwaters diverted traffic on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and shut the southbound F.D.R. drive at 116th Street. The Union Turnpike ramp on the Grand Central Parkway was shut, and on the Cross Bronx Expressway, the rising waters blocked the exit at White Plains Road.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/s...-system/2011/08/28/gIQAAiEckJ_story.html

Streets at edges of NYC start to flood as Irene nears; rain overwhelms parts of sewer system

By Associated Press, Sunday, August 28

Some streets at New York City’s edges are flooding as Hurricane Irene barrels toward the area.

City officials say rainfall overnight overwhelmed sewers and sent water streaming into some streets. Seawater from New York Harbor lapped at the edge the sidewalk at Battery Park along the tip of lower Manhattan.

Along the coast in the outer boroughs, flooding is worse. Ocean water was streaming into main streets of the Rockaways, a peninsula in Queens that Mayor Michael Bloomberg had ordered evacuated. In Brooklyn, Coney Island streets were also under water, and in Red Hook, also along the harbor, water was coming in about 100 yards.

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/gov_christie_discusses_njs_rec.html

Gov. Christie appears on network morning shows, says N.J. is seeing 'record flooding'

August 28, 2011

Gov. Chris Christie is urging New Jersey residents to stay inside to avoid what he says is massive inland flooding from rain-swelled rivers.

"We’ve already had a couple people who have left their home early this morning and been swept away by water.”

Christie said the National Guard is on the way in high water vehicles to rescue 30-35 people trapped by water at the Cranberry Run Senior Community in Buena Vista in Atlantic County.

Christie said on Good Morning America that he has heard a report of one woman who is missing after her car was swept away by water.

“People need to stay in their homes,” he said. “It is very dangerous to be outside in New Jersey right now.”

[photoLith]

I saw that Battery Park is flooded, the wind didnt look bad at all though.

[Innsertnamehere]

so no broken windows in the WTC? any broken windows in the city at all?

[CarlosV]

^^^
i evacuated to manhattan on 29th and 5th ave....I saw no damage, no broken glass anywhere... whatsoever except crap like this...seriously it was just another storm to me


IMG_1648 by Ceva321, on Flickr
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IMG_1652 by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_1616 by Ceva321, on Flickr

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

so no broken windows in the WTC? any broken windows in the city at all?

Irene just brought flood,as it was demoted to a tropical storm as soon as it got to Long Island. Besides, 1WTC and practically almost every building in New York can withstand strong winds. So,broken windows would be rare.