Why I live 932' AMSL

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/08/22/hurricanes.reut/index.html

"MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- If you thought the sight of New Orleans flooded to the eaves -- its people trapped in attics or cowering on rooftops -- was the nightmare hurricane scenario, think again."

Good, short, factual article.

That "Up the Hudson" scenario is called "The NY Bight (sp)" scenario.

It's nasty - NYC knows about it - but I'd hate to say it, NYC is woefully unprepared. They were supposed to do a Hurricane drill in the early spring - it got called off due to the flooding from the rains in May - then they were called off for the Power emergency - They keep postponing and or downsizing their drills because "something else is going on"

Heck - post 9/11, you know where NYC put it's OEM? 5 feet above sea level - they KNOW it'll flood in a Cat 1!! Guess what, so will the backup. Of course, they either just have, or are just about to move into the NEW OEM - which is about 100ft above sea level, so.. But they took that risk for almost 5 YEARS.

Why? Because they wanted to be "near city hall" - politics. They had pleanty of good spots, but then they wouild not be near the center of political power

Like it or not, NYC, which is 5 counties, has a problem - that being that some are more equal than others - or to use a phrase there is Manhattan and "the outer boroughs" - and trust me, the outers get the short end

Remember too, that except for The Bronx, all the rest of NYC is on 3 Islands, and if it's bad, they are NOT going to be able to get help from Nassau or Suffolk, or most of NJ or Rockland/Westchester, who will have their own problems.

You think the NO evacuation was big? Hah - Cat IV, NYC has to move 1.25 Million people out of the flood zone. When I bought my house (in Queens - on Long Island), I made SURE I was not in a flood zone - I think of it this way - we get a 110 ft storm surge, there are bigger problems than I can deal with

Yup, that's why I only work in Manhattan. If one creeps up the coast on us, I will call in sick and watch the flooding on the news. I found a good high spot 20 miles inland in Jersey to call home. Our office is in lower Manhattan, where the main floor would be 20 feet below the storm surge water line (as predicted). I sit halfway up a hill on the windward side of the prevailing storms (the ones coming from the west northwest), but if something creeps in from the east, I will get a good view of it. I suppose if it gets too nasty, I can head further west to our other office, which would be quite a bit more secure, or just keep driving into western PA.

I'm not too worried about it here. Still, I got a decent stockpile going right now. I do have the luxury of leaving entirely at my discretion anytime I want to, so if landfall up here is imminent, then I am on my way out early.