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Public Information Statement
National Weather Service New York NY
600 AM EDT SUN MAY 5 2024

...National Hurricane Preparedness Week is from May 5 to May 11...
...Know Your Risk...

Find out today what types of wind and water hazards could happen
where you live, and then start preparing now for how to handle them.
Know if you live in an area prone to flooding, if you live in an
evacuation zone, and identify weaknesses in your home.

Hurricanes are not just a coastal problem. Their impacts can be felt
hundreds of miles inland, and significant impacts can occur
regardless of the storm`s strength. They bring many hazards,
including storm surge along the coast and up tidal rivers,
freshwater flooding due to heavy rainfall, tornadoes, strong wind,
rip currents and large waves.

While the 2023 season was relatively active with 20 named storms
across the Atlantic basin, only three of those made landfall in the
U.S. Two of which were tropical storms. The other was Major
Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in a remote portion of the
Florida Panhandle. The storm was responsible for 12 fatalities and
an estimated 3.6 billion in damage.

The most memorable system in the last 10 years was Sandy in 2012.
More than 50 people lost their lives in the area due to a life
threatening storm surge. There were more than a million people
evacuated and more than 3 million power outages, some for as long a
2 weeks. The last major hurricane to impact the area was Hurricane
Carol in 1954 and before that the 1938 Long Island Express. In
addition, the tropical moisture associated with what was once
Hurricane Ida in 2021, brought catastrophic flooding to the area.
There were 55 deaths associated with Ida, 48 of those were due to
freshwater flooding when the storm was post-tropical.

These past events remind us that it just takes one storm to make it
a bad hurricane season for your community and that significant
impacts can happen regardless of a storm`s strength. Storms like
Sandy, Irene, and Isaias were not classified as major hurricanes,
but still had significant impacts.

Don`t suffer from hurricane amnesia and be complacent this hurricane
season.

For a better understanding of the need to know your risk before the
the hurricane season, visit the following web site: noaa.gov/know-
your-risk-water-wind.

Also, be prepared this hurricane season and visit hurricanes.gov and
ready.gov/hurricanes.

Find out if your in an evacuation zone at hurricanesstrong.org and
a flood zone at floodsmart.gov

The next statement will focus on preparing before hurricane season.

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