From Brendan Loy over at
The Weather Nerd:
Get The Hell Out
Being up in Wyoming with my older girls, away from my computer, I have limited information about Sandy right now. But from what I�m seeing on Twitter, it appears: 1) the computer models indicate that the threat of a catastrophic storm surge in New York City has increased, and is a VERY real (though, of course, not certain) threat; and 2) Mayor Bloomberg has affirmatively decided NOT to evacuate even the most low-lying areas of his vulnerable city, nor even to close the city government or schools Monday.
If I have all of that right, it makes no damn sense at all.
Bloomberg�s error here could be even worse than that of Ray Nagin, who merely delayed too long, but who at least did ultimately give the obviously necessary evacuation order. It�s also hard to square Bloomberg�s inaction with his proactive � and correct � actions in advance of Irene. Perhaps he�s now gun-shy because of ignorant hindsight 20/20 criticisms of that �unnecessary� evacuation. If so, he�s a damn fool, along with those who criticized him then for an evacuation that was fully justified by contemporaneous information.
In any case, if I lived in a �Zone A� or �Zone B� area of NYC, I�d get the hell out, tonight. (Or tomorrow, if I could easily travel by foot to my non-flood-prone destination.) It�s not even a close call. Same goes for any other location in the cone of uncertainty that�s vulnerable to a potential (not certain�it�s never certain�but realistic potential) storm surge of 6-10 feet, plus very high surf on top of that, at astronomical high tide.
Unreal -- fortunately, somebody seems to have gotten to Bloomberg as he is now advising that Zone A be evacuated.
From the
NYC CBS affiliate:
Mayor Bloomberg: Zone A Ordered Evacuated, Public Schools Closed Monday
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced he signed an executive order mandating the evacuation of Zone A by 7 p.m.
More:
Bloomberg warned residents who live in Zone A that all elevators in the zone will be shut down at 7 p.m. and urged residents to get to higher ground quickly, before subway and bus service is shut down.
�If you don�t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you,� he said at a news conference Sunday. �This is a serious and dangerous storm.�
And lastly:
In addition, Mayor Bloomberg announced all city schools have been closed for Monday. Alternate side of the street parking has also been suspended for Monday.
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