it s sort of hitting us in a t, so we formed this barrier island from east to west and the water is coming straight from the south to the north, directly at us. the winds, though, are what makes it so unpleasant. the water is what will likely make this a disaster that people are going to remember for a long time. there s been so much pooling water and the tidal surge is expected to continue or really to pick up to its peak. i believe in the next 45 minutes to an hour or so, alex. and that s what we ve been watching very closely. is this in the zone a area, peter? because it s so desolate. have people, were they ordered out of this area by mayor michael bloomberg? yeah. this is one of the zone a areas, about 370,000 new yorkers in total who were forced to leave their homes, 10 6,000 of them live here in coney island. it wasn t just the residents who had to evacuate. but a first of its kind evacuation from coney island hospital. for more than a century has zaered out at the atlantic.
from the storm surge, and there s no evidence that that is that the forecast for that is changing. it is going to be a very serious thing as far as we can tell now. if the storm were to head directly east and get away from us, nothing could make us happy dwrer, but you can t prepare for the best case. you have to prepare for the worst case. that s why yesterday we issued a mandatory evacuation order for the more than 370,000 new yorkers residing in the low lying areas called zone a areas, and in the rest of the rockaways, which is classified as zone b. the difference with zone b and zone a, zone b is higher, but the rockaways are a special case because if the bridges get closed, there s no ways off the island, and it would be very difficult for us to provide emergency services. the stay stream of new york is leaving these areas than coming into some of the 1 evacuation
island. just a short time ago, mayor mike bloomberg announced mandatory evacuations for the most vulnerable citizens, a move he said was pushed in part by his health commissioner, who is a veteran of hurricane katrina. we are also notifying the other hospitals in the zone a low-lying areas as well as nursing homes and senior homes in the low-lying zone a areas that they must, i repeat the word must, evacuate beginning tomorrow and complete the process by 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. unless they get permission to stay in place, based on the ability of the particular facility to keep operating during hurricane conditions. mayor bloomberg said a decision will be made by 8:00 a.m. saturday about ordering a large-scale evacuation. but he urged residents in low-lying areas to leave tomorrow before the weather turns, because new york s transit authority, which oversees subways, buses, and
are so worried about. irene has 55 million in its path, including the 20 million right near in the greater new york area. by far the most densely populated area in the united states. 8 million people live in new york city proper. 2 million of those people on the island of manhattan or staten island. just a short time ago, mayor mike bloomberg announced mandatory evacuations for the most vulnerable citizens, a move he said was pushed in part by his health commissioner, who is a veteran of hurricane katrina. we are also notifying the other hospitals in the zone a low-lying areas as well as nursing homes and senior homes in the low-lying zone a areas that they must, i repeat the word must, evacuate beginning tomorrow and complete the process by 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. unless they get permission to stay in place, based on the ability of the particular facility to keep operating during hurricane conditions.
populated area in the united states. 8 million people live in new york city proper. 2 million of those people on the island of manhattan or staten island. just a short time ago, mayor mike bloomberg announced mandatory evacuations for the most vulnerable citizens, a move he said was pushed in part by his health commissioner, who is a veteran of hurricane katrina. we are also notifying the other hospitals in the zone a low-lying areas as well as nursing homes and senior homes in the low-lying zone a areas that they must, i repeat the word must, evacuate beginning tomorrow and complete the process by 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. unless they get permission to stay in place, based on the ability of the particular facility to keep operating during hurricane conditions. mayor bloomberg said a decision will be made by 8:00 a.m. saturday about ordering a large-scale evacuation. but he urged residents in low-lying areas to leave tomorrow before the weather