NYC's Mayor Bloomberg channels his inner Ray Nagin
From Brendan Loy over at
The Weather Nerd:
Get The Hell Out
Being up in Wyoming with my older girls, away from my computer, I have limited information about Sandy right now. But from what I�m seeing on Twitter, it appears: 1) the computer models indicate that the threat of a catastrophic storm surge in New York City has increased, and is a VERY real (though, of course, not certain) threat; and 2) Mayor Bloomberg has affirmatively decided NOT to evacuate even the most low-lying areas of his vulnerable city, nor even to close the city government or schools Monday.
If I have all of that right, it makes no damn sense at all.
Bloomberg�s error here could be even worse than that of Ray Nagin, who merely delayed too long, but who at least did ultimately give the obviously necessary evacuation order. It�s also hard to square Bloomberg�s inaction with his proactive � and correct � actions in advance of Irene. Perhaps he�s now gun-shy because of ignorant hindsight 20/20 criticisms of that �unnecessary� evacuation. If so, he�s a damn fool, along with those who criticized him then for an evacuation that was fully justified by contemporaneous information.
In any case, if I lived in a �Zone A� or �Zone B� area of NYC, I�d get the hell out, tonight. (Or tomorrow, if I could easily travel by foot to my non-flood-prone destination.) It�s not even a close call. Same goes for any other location in the cone of uncertainty that�s vulnerable to a potential (not certain�it�s never certain�but realistic potential) storm surge of 6-10 feet, plus very high surf on top of that, at astronomical high tide.
Unreal -- fortunately, somebody seems to have gotten to Bloomberg as he is now advising that Zone A be evacuated.
From the
NYC CBS affiliate:
Mayor Bloomberg: Zone A Ordered Evacuated, Public Schools Closed Monday
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced he signed an executive order mandating the evacuation of Zone A by 7 p.m.
More:
Bloomberg warned residents who live in Zone A that all elevators in the zone will be shut down at 7 p.m. and urged residents to get to higher ground quickly, before subway and bus service is shut down.
�If you don�t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you,� he said at a news conference Sunday. �This is a serious and dangerous storm.�
And lastly:
In addition, Mayor Bloomberg announced all city schools have been closed for Monday. Alternate side of the street parking has also been suspended for Monday.
Posted by DaveH at October 28, 2012 11:52 AM