Be prepared for Hurricane season

June 1 is the official start of hurricane season, and while New Yorkers do not often consider our city vulnerable to hurricanes, they should.
Major hurricanes do not come often, but they do come. Several major storms have resulted in severe flooding, impassible roads and millions of dollars in damage. Last April, even a passing nor’easter brought high winds, heavy rain and coastal flooding here.
If a hurricane were to make landfall in New York City today, it could be catastrophic. Hurricanes bring driving winds, torrential rain and dangerous flooding. However, the most serious hurricane-related hazard is storm surge - seawater pushed forward by an approaching storm.
Portions of all five boroughs could suffer damage from storm surge. Moreover, it is not just those of you living by the beaches that are at risk; a Category 4 hurricane could push seawater six miles up Flatbush Avenue.
The City of New York has long recognized the threat that hurricanes pose and has a plan to respond to a major storm. The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has identified areas of the city that are at risk for flooding and mapped out the best evacuation routes - you may have noticed our blue coastal evacuation route signs throughout the city.
In 2006, our plan was entirely revamped to incorporate lessons learned by first responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a worst-case scenario, the plan allows for evacuating 2.3 million people to higher ground and sheltering up to 600,000 residents in over 500 shelters.
As we saw with Katrina, it may take days for outside help to arrive; that is why we have assigned staff and stockpiled food, clothing and medicine for our shelters. We have also bolstered plans for evacuating at-risk populations in hospitals and nursing homes.
While I am confident we are prepared for a hurricane, there is always more to do. Last weekend, OEM conducted HURREX - a multi-agency field exercise where we will work closely with our federal, state and regional partners to evaluate our plans for setting up shelters and to distribute critical supplies. The drill follows three major exercises in 2006 that examined our ability to evacuate portions of the city, address the requirements of special needs populations and staff shelters.
While OEM is busy getting ready, so should you.
There are some simple steps you can take to improve your safety.
The first, and most important, is to learn if you live in an evacuation zone. Call 3-1-1 or visit www.nyc.gov/hurricanezones to find out. If you live in a zone, it is important you make a plan with your family and think about where you might go if told to leave your home.
OEM publishes a guide that can help you do this: “Ready New York: Hurricanes and New York City.” The brochure is available in 11 languages and offers information on evacuations and sheltering.
OEM has already mailed the guide to the 1.6 million households located in coastal evacuation zones and it is available by visiting www.nyc.gov or calling 3-1-1.
The city is hard at work preparing for the upcoming storm season. I encourage you to take the basic steps to do the same.
Joseph F. Bruno is the Commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management.