BY BEN BRACHFELD
The city released updated
hurricane evacuation zones
on Tuesday, just as what meteorologists
predict will be a
busier-than-normal Atlantic
hurricane season begins.
The new zones can be
viewed on a map released by
the city’s Emergency Management
Department. New Yorkers
can input their address
into a search bar to see what
zone they live in, if they live in
one at all. The zones have been
updated to incorporate new
data and “information from
actual events,” in order to
identify fl ood risks on a more
granular, community level.
Overall, about 3.1 million
New Yorkers live in one of six
evacuation zones, the department
said, and about a million
live in a different zone than
last year. Those New Yorkers
living in these areas could be
ordered to evacuate if forecasters
COURIER L 16 IFE, JUNE 4-10, 2021
predict a strong hurricane
headed to the city.
“New Yorkers have been
through extraordinary challenges
in the past year. Now,
it’s on all of us to make sure
we’re ready for the next emergency
and that means having
a plan for hurricane season,”
said Mayor Bill de Blasio in
a statement. “Knowing your
evacuation zone, preparing
for fl ooding, and checking in
on your neighbors and the elderly
are easy steps that will
make a difference when it
matters most. Together, let’s
stay safe this season and build
a recovery for all of us.”
Coastal, low-lying southern
Brooklyn neighborhoods
are particularly vulnerable
to a storm surge, as was seen
during Superstorm Sandy in
2012, and large swaths of the
area are within the two most
vulnerable zones. Zones 1 and
2 include all of Coney Island,
Brighton Beach, Manhattan
Beach, Gerritsen Beach, Mill
Basin, and Bergen Beach, and
large sections of Gravesend,
Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park,
Canarsie, and East New York.
As for South Brooklyn’s
greenspace, Marine Park,
Floyd Bennett Field, and Shirley
Chisholm State Park are
all situated in Zones 1 and 2,
as are other coastal parks.
Elsewhere in the borough,
neighborhoods perched
largely in the highest risk
zones include Red Hook,
Greenpoint, East Williamsburg,
and the Brooklyn Navy
Yard area. Waterfront areas
all along the East River, from
Greenpoint to Bay Ridge, are
also in those zones.
The map includes guidance
advising New Yorkers in evacuation
zones to take up shelter
in the home of friends or family
outside the zones if ordered
to leave, but also shows various
NYC Emergency Management’s map of hurricane evacuation zones in
Brooklyn. Red is Zone 1, the highest risk evacuation areas; dark green is
zone 6, the lowest risk evacuation areas. NYC Emergency Management
public evacuation shelters,
mostly school buildings.
The city is also relaunching
its “Know Your Zone” public
outreach campaign, aimed
at informing New Yorkers
about their evacuation zone
status and encouraging people
to make contingency plans.
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
predicts a 60 percent chance
that this year’s Atlantic hurricane
season will be busier than
average. NOAA’s forecast projects
a “likely range” of 13 to 20
named storms, where winds
are 39 mph or above. That includes
six to 10 predicted hurricanes
with winds at or above
74 mph, and three to fi ve major
hurricanes, with winds of 111
mph or above. NOAA’s statistics
posit that an average season
includes 14 named storms,
seven hurricanes, and three
major hurricanes.
The Atlantic hurricane
season lasts from June 1 until
Nov. 30.
Know your zone
City releases updated hurrican evacuation
zones, southern BK nabes at high risk
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