New York City is closed

IRENE’S EYE. The finger of National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read points to the landfall of Hurricane Irene's eye at Cape Lookout, N.C., using a Telestrator, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011, at the hurricane center in Miami. AP

NEW YORK—Tens of thousands of people along the US East Coast were on the move Saturday, fleeing their homes and vacation spots ahead of massive Hurricane “Irene,” which has shut down airports, transit systems and scores of businesses, including Broadway.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered an unprecedented mass evacuation and the closure of America’s biggest subway system—the first time ever because of a natural disaster—while US President Barack Obama cut short his summer vacation and returned to Washington.

Obama, speaking from Martha’s Vineyard Island off the coast of Massachusetts before ending his vacation early, said all indications point to the storm being a historic hurricane.

The Category 2 hurricane, packing winds of 137 kilometers per hour, slammed into the coast of North Carolina on Saturday before moving up the eastern seaboard toward Washington, New York and Boston.

Though the wind strength has weakened from the forecast 160 kph, authorities say the hazards are still the same.

“The emphasis for this storm is on its size and duration, not necessarily how strong the strongest winds are,” stressed National Hurricane Center (NHC) specialist Mike Brennan.

The densely populated corridor, home to more than 65 million people, was under the threat of flooding, storm surges, power outages and destruction that experts said could cost up to $12 billion.

Officials declared emergencies, called up hundreds of National Guard troops, shut down public transit systems and begged hundreds of thousands of people to obey evacuation orders and get out of harm’s way.

“Don’t wait. Don’t delay,” said Obama. “I cannot stress this highly enough: If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now.”

Latest forecasts

At press time, Irene had made a crashing landfall into the North Carolina coastline on Saturday, and according to the latest forecast, to churn up the eastern seaboard and drench areas from Virginia to New York City on Sunday before a weakened storm reaches New England.

Irene’s wrath in the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, gave a preview of what might be coming to the United States: Power outages, dangerous floods and high winds that caused millions of dollars in damage.

Long before the storm’s eye crossed the US coastline, rain and tropical storm-force winds of at least 80 kph already were pelting North and South Carolina as Irene trudged north, snapping power lines and flooding streets.

Officials warned of dangerous rip currents as Irene roiled the surf. Thousands already were without power. Wind and rains knocked out power to about 45,000 customers along the coast, including a hospital.

‘Extremely dangerous’

Irene will be accompanied by an “extremely dangerous” storm surge that could raise water levels by as much as 3.4 meters, the NHC said.

The NHC said the storm is unlikely to get any stronger and may weaken slightly before reaching land. But even below hurricane strength it would be a powerful and potentially destructive storm, it said.

The hurricane still packed 160 kilometer per hour winds, and officials in the northeast, not used to tropical weather, feared it could wreak devastation.

Irene’s approach stirred painful memories of Hurricane “Katrina,” which smashed into the Gulf Coast in 2005, stranding thousands of people in New Orleans and overwhelming poorly prepared local and federal authorities.

Last hurricane in 1985

“We haven’t seen a hurricane threat like this in quite a few decades,” Chris Vaccaro, a spokesperson from the National Weather Service, told AFP.

“This is going to be a very long weekend for the residents of the Mid-Atlantic and the northeast,” he said.

Hurricanes are rare in the northeastern United States— the last major hurricane to hit New York was “Gloria” in 1985.

The US East Coast, home to some of the country’s most densely populated cities and costliest waterfront real estate, was expected to suffer a multibillion-dollar disaster, experts forecast.

In addition to widespread wind and water damage, Irene could also push crude oil prices higher if it disrupts refineries in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which produce nearly 8 percent of US gasoline and diesel fuel.

First-ever NYC evacuation

Bloomberg told a news conference Friday he had ordered the first-ever mass evacuations from low-lying areas across the densely populated New York City that are home to some 250,000 people, calling it a “matter of life or death.”

Subways, buses and trains in one of the world’s largest public transportation systems were to stop running at noon Saturday. Bridges and tunnels also could be closed as the storm approaches, clogging traffic in an already congested city.

The five main New York City-area airports were also scheduled to close at noon Saturday for arriving passenger flights.

Several New York landmarks were under the evacuation order, including the Battery Park City area where tourists catch ferries to the Statue of Liberty.

Sporting events, concerts and even Broadway were going dark.

The unprecedented orders, which affect New Yorkers from Manhattan and out to the beaches of Brooklyn and Queens, dealt the congested metropolis a formidable logistical challenge that raised more questions than it resolved.

Where to?

Where are all of those people in New York’s flood-prone areas supposed to go? And, more pointedly, how are they going to get there—especially since many don’t own a car?

Officials hoped most residents would stay with family and friends, and for the rest the city opened nearly 100 shelters with a capacity of 71,000 people.

Many people scoffed at the danger and vowed to ride it out at home.

Bloomberg said he was confident people would get out of the storm’s way.

“We do not have the manpower to go door-to-door and drag people out of their homes,” he said. “Nobody’s going to get fined. Nobody’s going to go to jail. But if you don’t follow this, people might die.”

“It’s possible to evacuate without going very far,” said John Nielsen-Gammon, a Texas A&M University meteorologist who has been involved in disaster planning in his role as the state climatologist.

Big wild card

“The big wild card for New York is the fact that nobody there is used to a hurricane and can’t rely on common sense or past experience as a guide. And what we learned from evacuations in Houston is that people rely on their friends and their own experience as much as, or more than, they rely on public officials,” he said.

America’s biggest city has not seen a hurricane in decades, and a hurricane warning hasn’t been issued there since Hurricane “Gloria” hit in 1985 as a Category 2 storm, said Ashley Sears, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Even if the winds aren’t strong enough to damage buildings in a metropolis made largely of brick, concrete and steel, a lot of New York’s subways and other infrastructure are underground, making them subject to flooding.

New York’s two airports are close to the water and could be inundated, as could densely packed neighborhoods, if the storm pushes ocean water into the city’s waterways, officials said.

The last 200 years

In the last 200 years, New York has seen only a few significant hurricanes. In September 1821, a hurricane raised tides by 4 meters in an hour and flooded all of Manhattan south of Canal Street, the southernmost tip of the city. The area now includes Wall Street and the World Trade Center memorial.

An infamous 1938 storm dubbed the Long Island Express came ashore about 120 kilometers east of the city and then hit New England, killing 700 people and leaving 63,000 homeless.

In 2008, the city had a brush with Tropical Storm “Hanna,” which dumped 8 centimeters of rain on Manhattan. With Reuters