Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Hurricane Irene Prompts Unprecedented Evacuation of NYC

Posted by timothy on from the this-sounds-exciting dept.

oxide7 links this bit of sobering news, as reported by the International Business Times: "For the first time, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered a mandatory evacuation of 300,000 residents of the cities coastal areas as Hurricane Irene barrels up the East Coast. Buses and subways prepared to shut on Saturday as Hurricane Irene approaches as well. All New Jersey rail service will be suspended from noon Saturday, while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will institute a shutdown of trains and buses starting at the same time. The suspension will include subways, buses, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and Access-A-Ride. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will suspend PATH train service at noon as well. 'This is a mandatory evacuation,' Bloomberg said. 'By five o'clock tomorrow you have to be out. Waiting for the last minute is not a smart thing to do. This is life threatening.'" Good luck to everyone in the storm's path: Irene is big. (Hat tip to Matt Lord.) What, if anything, are you doing to prepare? Having spent more than an hour in worse-than-usual D.C. traffic after Tuesday's earthquake, I shudder to think of leaving New York in a rush. Update: 08/27 06:43 GMT by T : An anonymous reader points out the official evacuation map (PDF), on the swamped NYC server, and suggests "Lets mirror this file anywhere we can ... put it on all social media. Make these systems do what they were supposed to — help us. I'm in Long Island City ~100 yards from the East River in the orange (highest risk) area."

14 of 395 comments (clear)

  1. firearms by niko9 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    One thing (of many) I am doing that most public officials, the media and emergency management officials always fail to talk about: cleaning and inspecting my firearms.

    1. Re:firearms by arkane1234 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ummm you don't clean and inspect them on a regular basis?
      I'm being serious...

      --
      -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
    2. Re:firearms by Capt.+Skinny · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ...because as we all know, property is more valuable than life and limb.

    3. Re:firearms by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      My property is more valuable than some looter's life and limb.

      Sure, life is unfair and the world is unequal. But getting your head turned into a canoe is a real risk if you try to take what belongs to someone else during a natural disaster. If this weren't true, there would be a lot more looting.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. According to wunderground... by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... it's only supposed to be a category 1 by the time it reaches land, and down to tropical storm strength by the time it reached New York. When I lived in Florida, we didn't even lower the awnings for a cat 1.

    After this, and the hullabaloo over that 5.9 earthquake (I live in California now, and we laughed at the big deal they made out of it.), I think the east coast are being a massive bunch of drama queens.

    --
    Imagine all the people...
    1. Re:According to wunderground... by siride · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or the media, rather. They love this. Hurricane headed for one of the biggest markets in the country. Even if it ends up being a dud, they can still spend a day going after the meteorologists who correctly predicted it, even when the media did not, and get their ratings fill. It's a win-win for them.

    2. Re:According to wunderground... by slimjim8094 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Good for you. We'll come and dump 4 feet of snow on you overnight, and "laugh at the big deal you make out of it" as you try desperately to dig yourselves out with no/not enough plows, shovels, snowblowers, and tire chains.

      Look. Different regions get different types of weather. How'd your last ice storm go? Because ours gave us a day or two of trouble. Same with the blizzard we had this winter - 4 feet of snow in one day, and cleared out the next. But that's because we plan for snow, ice, and harsh winters in general. Oh your car won't start? Should have used a block heater, how stupid of you. But you'll only need it once? Drama queen...

      In the Northeast, we don't get hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes. In California, you don't get much snow or ice, or sub-zero temperatures (or tornadoes). So you have building codes that handle earthquakes, and we have plows and snowblowers. We plan for typical events, and don't waste our limited resources on highly unusual events. Neither of us would be very prepared for an F3 blowing through town, but are you going to call yourself a drama queen for being bummed that your house is a half-mile in the air?

      I think people do this to feel superior. I don't get it. But New Englanders were doing the same thing when DC shut down over 3 inches of snow, so it's not just you.

      --
      I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
    3. Re:According to wunderground... by hrvatska · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's all relative. One area's once a century calamity is another area's semi-regular event. It all depends on what the local buildings and infrastructure are designed to handle.

  3. Trees comin' down by Bayoudegradeable · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is going to be the first sustained wind even for most areas north of NC. MANY dead and weak branches and trees will be knocked down by Irene. I suspect a mess of power lines are gonna be knocked down. I doubt anyone is in grave peril here (it's too perilous!). But millions of folks will spend the weekend and longer without power. Trust a bayou dweller; get the stinky stuff out'cha freezer and fridge. After 3 days it gets nasty. Good luck.

    --
    Sig Registration Form 34c_766(a) submitted to Ministry of Signature Management. Approval pending.
  4. Re:It's a CAT-2 storm, for god's sake... by artor3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    NYC isn't quite as accustomed to hurricanes as NOLA. Imagine how NOLA would handle a noreaster dumping four feet of snow on you, and you'll get a better feel for the severity.

  5. subject by Legion303 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "the cities coastal areas"

    This is what journalism has come to. Writers who can't fucking write.

  6. Re:DC Traffic sucks... by Pseudonym+Authority · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I blame those Keep Austin Weird "people".

  7. Re:Why of why by ArsonSmith · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's ok, if anything bad happens they'll still find a way to blame Bush.

    --
    Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  8. Re:It's a CAT-2 storm, for god's sake... by Cederic · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Out of curiousity are you a racist bigot or a religious one? Or both?

    Or to put it another way, just what the fuck does Bloomberg being a Jew have to do with anything? If he is one. (I don't actually know, because - get this - it doesn't fucking matter).