Saturday, May 20, 2006

Long Island Express?

Still seems like Katrina was too damn recent. Then I read this article.

12 days to 2007 Hurricane season. Yippee.

Remember Hurricane Gloria? It just seemed like a lot of rain blowing through, even though it was still hurricane-force strength at a Category 1. It beat the crap more out of North Carolina than NY.

A major hurricane hitting Long Island and Connecticut? Oh what fun. The LIE is a bad enough parking lot as is during rush hour. It would not be pretty in the lead-up to a category 2 or 3. Not to mention the damage to lower NYC. Last time a major one hit was 1954. There's been a bit of building up, out, and around in 53 years. Oh, and a few million more people.

Title references a 1938 hurricane that blew through Long Island and ripped up a lot on Long Island and in CT and MA.

Well, at least New York's above sea-level. By about 1 foot. This isn't a fun prediction:

Sure, the low-lying southern end of Manhattan could be submerged as far north as Canal Street. The Holland Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel could fill with water. Outside Manhattan, huge swaths of Brooklyn and Queens, including the sites of the city's two airports, could flood in a major hurricane.

In a worst-case scenario, emergency managers expect 2 million of New York City's 8 million residents will have to leave their homes. City officials plan to suggest that people in low-lying areas leave their homes 96 hours ahead of a potentially dangerous hurricane.

Odds right now are about 13 to 1 (7%) of a major hurricane hitting the NE this summer.

"We're not evacuating New York City in any way," said Joseph Bruno, commissioner of the city's department of emergency management.

Thanks for planning ahead, Joey.

Somehow, I think if something were to hit, a lot more would be done a lot quicker to aid than was done last year. As for why - well, leave your comments as to why. I've ranted long enough.

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