Mayor weighs NYC evacuations as Irene churns
RFbf2s\t ft/k- 64 Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he'll likely decide by late Friday whether to order the evacuation of some low-lying parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.
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cpk\;1&t (Bloomberg) - New York officials preparing for Hurricane Irene this weekend will decide Friday whether to call for the evacuation of low-lying areas in downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
$'\kK,= . gy:Pl]w The decision would be based on the strength, path and speed of the storm, Mr. Bloomberg told reporters Thursday at a news conference in a flood-prone section of Queens. The city would offer “an enormous shelter system” for those without a place to stay on higher ground, he said.
q;9X8 _ m@ <,bZkl “We don't have enough information yet to make that call,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “The timing is a bit up in the air, as it is with all these things. Sometime on Friday, late in the day. How many depends on how severe we think the storm is going to be.”
h?TIxo:6/ 807+|Ol[ Officials must decide whether to suggest or order people to seek higher ground, Mr. Bloomberg said. The mayor has the power to issue an executive order forcing evacuation, which Mr. Bloomberg said he would use only in the “worst circumstances.”
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ztK`_n Airlines are beginning to cancel flights and get planes out of the way as the hurricane barrels toward the U.S. East Coast. The storm is likely to force hundreds of flights to be canceled through this weekend and create delays that could ripple across the country.
+^9^)Ur| ZW;Ec+n_K On Thursday, airlines offered passengers the option of free rebooking for trips to many East Coast cities.
+j: &_ {e&fB X6; The heightening concern over the approaching storm and the quickening pace of preparations became evident at Thursday morning when Mr. Bloomberg summoned the city's elected officials as well as its state legislative delegation to City Hall for a briefing with police and emergency-management officials.
uT ]$R wp~}1]g Irene, the strongest Atlantic storm to threaten the U.S. since 2005, battered the Bahamas Thursday with 113 mph winds on a course that's expected to take it near North Carolina this weekend and toward New England next week. Only five hurricanes on record dating to 1851 have tracked within 75 miles of New York City, the most recent being Gloria in 1985, according to the National Weather Service.
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RY}g; BZ\="N#f City officials are planning for a storm on Aug. 28 with winds of at least 60 miles per hour accompanied by heavy rain, the mayor said. They currently expect the brunt of the storm to cross mid-Long Island, on the border of Nassau and Suffolk counties, to the east of the city.
6?,q ysm06 wbWC &X. He advised residents to prepare “go-bags” containing water, non-perishable food, medications, important papers and extra house and car keys in the event officials declare the storm dangerous enough to evacuate. The areas affected include lower Manhattan, southeast Queens, Brooklyn's beach communities, such as Coney Island, and coastal areas of Staten Island, Mr. Bloomberg said.
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! g} `g>&l5 The Police Department has 50 small boats to use in the event of floods. Sanitation crews are cleaning leaves and refuse from storm sewers and moving equipment to higher ground. Hospitals have checked their emergency power generators, stocks of medicine and other supplies.
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