Why not, what are the risks?

It seems like carrying some sort of utility bill or bank statement might be a good idea in case your driver's license is not enough to prove your identity for whatever purpose, but it's hard for me to imagine how this would help you out at the roadblock.

Assume the roadblock is run by soldiers, police auxiliaries, etc. Not showing your license to begin with might make you look suspicious, and they'll ask, "Do you not have your license on you? Is that why you handed me this bill? Have you forfeited your license, sir? Please step out of the vehicle."

Assume the roadblock is run by robbers. You're better off just backing up and driving away. It's a little hard for me to see how your electric bill would help you. Maybe I'm missing something here...

Da Bing

Excelllent advice. My understanding is that typically just as many fatalities occur during after action cleanup as happen during the actual storm event. I'll bet that works for earthquakes and other widespread disasters as well.

The problem with roadblocks is that they are chaotic, crowded, and disorganized. 1,000 people show up to get through, but they are only letting a few through. It's manned by a bunch of 19 year old soldiers who don't really know the bigger picture they are just told to stand there and they couldn't care less about you or your house.

The real problem arises because a lot of the people who show up at the roadblock want to go through the neighborhood to some other neighborhood and they get turned back. They are told to go around and enter from another side. There might be several roadblocks that you have to go through.

When you finally show up to your neighborhood's roadblock you don't normally need a license. You just need something like a utility bill or a bank statement with your address on it. The soldier will take your utility bill and then walk away to a tent somewhere and someone higher up like a Sargent or whatever will try to find your address on a map because they don't know your neighborhood. This can take seemingly forever because these people have never been to your neighborhood and don't know the area. They are NG soldiers from some faraway place. In the meantime, you're standing there waiting in a sea of pissed off people. It is chaos. Don't give up your license - you may not get it back.

You may or may not get through that first checkpoint, and you may or may not get your utility bill back so carry a few if you can. You might get sent to another roadblock and when you ask for your bill back it is nowhere to be found.

This is exactly what happened to my grandfather, mother and me in Homestead after Hurricane Andrew. It was an absolute nightmare trying to get back into my grandfather's neighborhood. I've heard that Katrina was even worse.

Sure, you should carry your license but don't give it up unless you have to. Only a cop understands the importance of that little document so keep it away from civilian and military roadblock "attendants" if possible.

Mayor Bloomberg announces Friday if low-lying parts of NYC will need to be evacuated.
Story Here

He actually told resident to prepare "Go Bags" with water, non-perishable food, medications, important papers and extra house and car keys!

-Blast

That IS good.

And here's a reassuring quote from the article: "The Police Department has 50 small boats to use in the event of floods."

For all of NYC?!

That would be 1 Police Dept small boat per 40,000 folks as the coastline could be potentially 'Reshaped' according to Elliot Abrams

http://www.accuweather.com/video/90586657001/irenes-fury-aimed-dc-to-phill.asp

What do you want to bet that all of the generators and the supply floor of these hospitals are on the ground floor or in the basements?

They are at the hospital where my sister works, and the hospital is near a river in a flood-prone area. There's even a big delivery ramp to the basement.

The article didn't mention Long Island. I don't know the topography there -- is it low enough for people to have to vacate most of it? That would be a mess... and I wonder how long it would take?

Sue

Perhaps another way of looking at the small number of boats is this: "Our resources are limited, so if it looks like things may get rough, leave the area ASAP!"

The storm surge flooding could be extensive. Cat 4 is in Green Cat 1 is red etc. So a Cat 4 storm would push the Atlantic ocean inland about 2 miles over most of the Atlantic Ocean side of Long Island.

The numbers involved would be more than 2 million people affected with a Cat 4 storm i.e. flooded out and probably around 0.5 million with a Cat 1 storm. i.e. more than the numbers affected by the Katrina Debacle.