A warning from the past-The Hurricane that Hit NYC

here is an interesting article about the 1938 hurricane that hit NYC and Long Island.

The Hurricane that Hit NYC

It is being written to warn people that big hurricane do hit our area and that they should listen to evacuation orders.

from the original article

Because of the population density, a successful evacuation of vulnerable low-lying areas in and around New York City and metropolitan New Jersey would actually have to start sooner than what is typically ordered in Florida and elsewhere, officials have determined based on studies by the Army Corps of Engineers.

But hurricanes move more quickly and become very difficult to predict when they head north of the Carolinas. In a likely scenario, experts say, there might only be hours of warning.

History reveals that New York and the Northeast have been hit hard before, and with little warning. Scientists say the next major hurricane to strike the city is a question of when, not if.

The eastern end of Long Island actually caught the brunt of this hurricane and our area had some loss of life and much property damage. On a lighter note I had an uncle who worked for a company that processed menhaden and he was on one of the fishing trawlers that was put out to sea to ride out the storm. It took him 2 days to get his land legs back and be able to walk straight after they came back to shore.

I think that any old time families living in our area will have no trouble remembering that it isn't a question of if a major hurricane will hit us again but when will it happen. I was taught by parents and other family who went thru this 1938 hurricane that you are always as prepared as possible when hurricane season starts.

In fact, we are generally hit pretty hard every so often by hurricanes that aren't as strong as the '38 hurricane - which makes me wonder why people don't take hurricane warnings seriously. But I guess part of my confusion comes from the fact that DH is a member of the Fire Department and Rescue Squad out there risking his life trying to convince people to move out before they can not get to them because of the storm.

justme1640,

I can only assume from that, that you are from there (giving the relevance to your train of thought).

Kinda goes with my avatar, about forgetting the past.

Kudo's to you for thinking about the everyone, placing that "history" in the sub-coinscious.



Misfit

fascinating, I didn't even know of 1938 hurricane that hit NY

I remember when Gloria hit NYC in 85 or 86, I think it caught many people off guard, all the elevated trains had stopped working and I remember walking home from school after an early dismissal completely soaked to the bone because my umbrella blew away the minute I had opened it and no train service and the buses being too packed to stop. I remember the Coney Island area of Brooklyn being flooded as well as parts of Long Island. Hurricanes do not only affect Florida and the South, every year imo the after effects of hurricanes on points past the area of initial landfall seems to get worse.

The results could be disasterous if a category 5 hurricane hit New York at the right angle and brought a storm surge straight through the harbor. Low lying areas throughout Manhattan and New Jersey could be totally flooded out.