City to mail preparedness guides to residents of evacuation zones

About a third of Brooklyn affected

July 2, 2013 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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NYC Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph F. Bruno has announced that 1.4 million New York City households and businesses in new Hurricane Evacuation Zones 1 through 6 will receive a copy of the new “Ready New York: Hurricanes and New York City” guide.

OEM’s new map doubles the areas that are prone to flooding. Zone 1 areas are the most vulnerable to storms, while Zone 6 areas are the least vulnerable.

Brooklyn areas that are now on the map include Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Gravesend, Sheepshead Bay and a wide swath of Southeast Brooklyn stretching north to Canarsie and East New York. On the west side of Brooklyn, vulnerable areas include the Sunset Park piers, Red Hook, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Navy Yard area, and at least half of Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

The guide, delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, will arrive in mailboxes this week. The new brochure provides a citywide map of coastal evacuation zones and evacuation centers, as well as practical advice on how New Yorkers can prepare for coastal storms.

The City’s updated hurricane preparedness guide will eventually be available in 11 languages, English versions are currently available at www.nyc.gov/oem or by calling 311.

“As part of our extensive education outreach informing residents of the new hurricane evacuation zones we are sending households in Zones 1 through 6 a copy of the updated hurricane guide,” said Commissioner Bruno.

In addition to informing residents directly, OEM is working with local elected officials, community boards, and community groups to publicize the new evacuation zones.

Nationally, hurricane season lasts five months from June 1 through November 30, but because of colder ocean temperatures New York’s hurricane season is shorter and is generally considered to start on August 1.