How to Prepare for Hurricane Irene

With winds over 180 miles-per-hour and waves towering as high as 50 feet, a Category 3 hurricane killed 700 people and even more livestock in Long Island and the surrounding New England area.

They called the storm, which hit Long Island in September 1938, the Long Island Express, and there’s another one of similar strength heading our way.

As of 7 a.m. Thursday, Hurricane Irene, also a Category 3 storm, had already barreled through the Caribbean Islands and was approaching North Carolina. She’s expected to hit Long Island somewhere between Saturday night and Sunday morning, bringing with her strong winds, heavy rain and most likely, coastal flooding.

"Long Island is one of the most vulnerable places in the nation,” says Ken English, deputy director of the Long Island Chapter of the American Red Cross.

English held a hurricane preparedness presentation earlier this month at the Malverne Public Library, where he described what would happen if the South Shore of Nassau County was struck by a major tropical storm again and suggested ways residents could prepare for such an event.

To illustrate the possible devastation, he showed photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, which made landfall in Galveston, Texas as a strong Category 2 in 2008. The images showed houses completely gutted, boats resting on rooftops and the mainlands completely engulfed in water from the 22-foot tidal surges.

Then, he zoomed out to a map of Galveston, a long narrow island jutting off of Texas, and said, “It looks like Long Island. It’s got the same characteristics we have here.”

Nassau County and Malverne both have their own Offices of Emergency Management (OEM) and a plan in place should a hurricane strike, both part of the legacy left behind by the late James Callahan, who served as the county’s OEM commissioner and deputy mayor of his village.

Since neither Malverne or West Hempstead are located in a flood zone, more than likely residents will be instructed to take shelter inside their homes, while those located in coastal areas such as Long Beach will be instructed to evacuate.

“If a hurricane strikes you might need to stay inside for several days,” English said, advising everyone to prepare a shelter-in-place kit that would include seven-days worth of provisions for each member of your household including one gallon of water per person for each day.

You should also have a go-kit for each family member, including any pets, should you be told to evacuate. (Nassau Coliseum would be the site of a shelter designated only for animals.) To see what items should be included in these kits click here.

Among the suggested supplies is a battery-powered or hand crank radio, which English says should be used to listen for instructions from local authorities. (Malverne’s emergency radio station is 620AM.) Both Nassau County and Malverne have their own emergency notification systems, which would allow them to quickly call residents’ landline phones to share pertinent information in the event of a disaster. The County and village will use this to alert people on when to evacuate. In Malverne, residents may be instructed to seek temporary shelter at one of the schools designated in the village’s disaster plan, until they can be bused to the one of the county’s 25 shelters.

“Shelters are crowded and uncomfortable places with minimal resources which should be considered as a place of last resort and not part of your plan,” English said. “Only evacuate if you are told to...[but] know your evacuation routes” he said.  Click here to view them.

He suggests finding a friend or relative living on the inland that will let you stay at their home. This should be a part of a disaster plan that every family creates for themselves before the storm is knocking on their door.

“I would do presentations all over county with Jim [Callahan] and he would say, ‘If we tell you to evacuate and you don't, write your emergency contact information and social security number on your arm so we can identify your body when we pull you out of the debris.’” English said. “That woke people up.”

After the storm, if you have stayed home, remain inside until emergency officials advise you otherwise.

"More injuries happen after the hurricane from downed trees and power lines," he said.

For more information visit nassaucountyny.gov/ready