For the record, here's a preliminary overview of the impact of Hurricane Irene on Brooklyn.
See also, Hurricane Sandy 2012: Brooklyn Daily Log of Worst Hurricane on Record
BACKGROUND: ABOUT HURRICANE IRENE in NYC, AUGUST 2011
A Category 1 storm, Hurricane Irene swept up the east coast of the United States on Saturday and Sunday, August 27th and 28th, 2011. It was a large, slow-moving storm headed toward major population centers.By the time it arrived in NYC it had been downgraded to a "tropical storm" status.
Extraordinary emergency precautions were taken city-wide, including the first-ever total shut down of the NYC bus and subway system. The following outlines an assessment of the impact of Hurricane Irene on Brooklyn, less than a week after it hit New York City.
WHAT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN AS A RESULT OF HURRICANE IRENE?
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, BUSINESS, CONSUMER & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
- I. Emergency Preparedness Measures Taken in Brooklyn
- High risk hospitals, shelters and nursing homes were evacuated, including Coney Island Hospital.
- Several Brooklyn neighborhoods were declared Zone A Flood Evacuation Zones: Manhattan Beach and Coney Island. (Zone A is a FEMA classification.)
- Flood and wind warnings were issued for Brooklyn and city-wide.
- 18 evacuation centers were opened in Brooklyn.
- All Brooklyn subways and buses ceased service starting Saturday at noon until Monday morning (city-wide).
- City beaches were closed from Friday at noon for several days. This impacted Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach.
- All cultural institutions were closed, including the Brooklyn Museum and all public libraries. Special public events, such as the annual Battle of Brooklyn celebration, were cancelled. Any event such as a street fair requiring public permitting was shut down by 2 p.m. Saturday.
- II. Consumer & Business Impact of Hurricane Irene in Brooklyn
- Many stores ran out of flashlights, batteries, water and bread by Saturday afternoon.
- Many Brooklyn businesses were closed for a day or two.
- Power outages impacted at least 10,000 Brooklyn households (using Con Ed); some lasting from Sunday until Wednesday.
- Mayor Bloomberg held a press conference in Coney Island. See press release.
- Alternate side of the street parking was suspended for a day and trash pick up schedules were interrupted.
- Countless basements flooded.
- III. Environmental Impact of Hurricane Irene in Brooklyn
- 6.78 inches of water fell in Brooklyn between Saturday evening and Sunday morning; winds, predicted to hit up to 75 miles per hour, gusted up a sustained level of 52 miles an hour in the city overall according to the National Weather Service.
- Flooding occurred on the eastbound Belt Parkway and in six of Brooklyn's low-lying 'Zone A' neighborhoods, including, according to the Brooklyn Borough President's office, parts of Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Coney Island, Red Hook, DUMBO and Williamsburg.
- Tree Damage
- 3,724 trees were reported damaged (not totally downed) citywide. Of these 863 trees in Brooklyn were damaged (not totally downed) by Hurricane Irene, according to the National Hurricane Center three days after the storm. According to an August 31 press release by the Brooklyn Borough President's office, "hundreds of trees were knocked down, doing significant damage to cars, homes and infrastructure." These included a large old elm in Brooklyn Heights.
- Green-Wood Cemetery reports that it "lost between 50 and 60 trees of all maturities. Many of them were uprooted, some were even snapped in half, and hundreds suffered from broken branches and limbs."
- In Prospect Park, Hurricane Irene uprooted or severely damaged more than 150 trees, according to the Prospect Park Alliance.
WHAT DID NOT OCCUR IN BROOKLYN DUE TO HURRICANE IRENE?
In severe weather events, what doesn't happen can be as important as what does. New York City as a whole was not hit as hard by Hurricane Irene as had been feared. Here are good outcomes, measured by events that did not occur:- No deaths were reported in Brooklyn that were specifically due to the hurricane.
- The Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Verrazano Bridges did not close.
- Crime did not spike; rather, it dropped citywide over the weekend of Hurricane Irene, according to a press statement by Mayor Bloomberg.
- Last but not least, one thing that did not occur is that as of September 1, Brooklyn was not included among the NY counties to receive post-hurricane FEMA aid. This omission, which was quickly contested, was certainly an unanticipated outcome.
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