Politics & Government

Hurricane Season is Here: Are You Ready?

Long Island leaders say they're working with the Red Cross; urge residents to be prepared.

This post was written by Joe Dowd.

Long Island leaders and officials with the American Red Cross say they ready for hurricane season, which begins Saturday and runs through Nov. 30.

The question they posed is: are you ready?

In a joint press conference at Farmingdale State College Friday, county executives from Nassau and Suffolk joined top officials of the American Red Cross to say they've learned a lot since Hurricane Sandy and have made improvements. 

They urged residents to do the same: 

"There have been a series of related event that point to climate change impacting our weather," said Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone. "That appears to be increasing our likelihood of getting hit again."

But, he added, "We are prepared for what ever comes next."

This week, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center forecast an "active or extremely active" hurricane season with a 70 percent chance of 13-20 named storms of which 7-11 could become hurricanes (with wind speeds of 74 mph or higher.) Three to six of those could become major hurricanes with wind speeds of 111 mph or more, NOAA predicted. 

"History has shown us the best way to get through a hurricane is to be prepared to get out quickly and have a plan," said Nassau Executive Ed Mangano. Families need to prepare a "go-to kit" of essential items and keep informed through a variety of sources, including the media. 

In general, the Red Cross recommends the emergency kit include food, water and other basic supplies for each family members to last three days. Medications, important documents and special items for children and pets should be packed away in a bag and ready to go. 

The leaders also announced a new mobile app that will keep residents alerted to developments in an emergency. The Red Cross App can be found at redcross.org/mobileapps .

From the government's standpoint, officials said they've increased the number of supply sheds in locations around the county. Some of them provided the backdrop for Friday's press conference. 

In addition, both county executives said Long Island has increased the number of available generators that will keep gas stations open and the gas flowing in the aftermath of a big storm.

A lingering question mark remains LIPA and its parent company, National Grid. While the state is attempting to alter LIPA's structure, Bellone said "the lack of accountability caused many deficiencies and resulted in major difficulty." 

Patch wants to know, have you made preparations for this hurricane season? What have you done? If not, why are you "riding out the storm?"


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