PRESS RELEASE: Gotbaum and Stringer Call on Albany to Act on Catastrophe Preparedness Tuesday
 Press Release Source: ProtectingNewYork.org
Gotbaum and Stringer Call on Albany to Act on Catastrophe Preparedness Tuesday October 31, 10:30 am ET
NEW YORK, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer joined with former Federal Emergency Management Director James Lee Witt in calling upon state leaders to take steps to better prepare and protect New Yorkers from the financial impact of a natural catastrophe.
"New York, like so many other states, is exposed and unprotected from the ravages of a major hurricane or other catastrophic event. The human and financial costs of a major hurricane making a direct hit on New York City would be enormous," said James Lee Witt, who is the national co-chair of ProtectingAmerica.org.
"It has happened before, and there is no doubt that it will happen again," he added.
In 1938, the "Long Island Express" hurricane made landfall on Long Island, carved the Shinnecock Inlet, killed 700 people and left 63,000 homeless. If that same storm were to hit the same place today, its damages would be likely to exceed $24 billion, according to an AIR Worldwide hurricane model.
A major hurricane hit New York City in 1821, lifted the tide 13 feet in one hour. The East River and Hudson River quickly converged over Lower Manhattan and flooded the City as far north as Canal Street.
"The facts are striking and unsettling. A category three storm would put Lower Manhattan under ten feet of water in a matter of hours. Its winds would turn skyscrapers into wind tunnels," said New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
"We have been put on notice. Hurricane experts, from the National Weather Service to AccuWeather, are united in their predictions that a major hurricane will make landfall in the Northeast in the coming years," Gotbaum added.
According to a 1995 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Metro New York Hurricane Transportation study, a category four hurricane would put JFK Airport under 20 feet of water, vast portions of Long Island would be submerged for days. Damages from such a storm could exceed $100 billion.
"New York City, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers, is the third most vulnerable US city for a hurricane disaster," Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said. "The rebuilding process and recovery efforts from a disaster can be just as important as the initial hours of response and the state legislature needs to act now so that New York is best prepared to respond and recover."
"New York is lucky to have the best first responders in the world," Stringer added. "But there are aspects of disaster preparedness and emergency response that fall outside the scope of responsibilities of OEM and our first responders. That is where the state must step up to create a catastrophic insurance fund."
"We are today calling for action on comprehensive legislation that would establish privately funded financial mechanisms to protect the victims of natural catastrophe in New York, provide more funding for our first responders and mitigate potential damage through better planning and improved consumer education," Gotbaum said.
"The most important step is to begin the discussion so that legislation can be enacted before the next storm strikes New York," Stringer said.
ProtectingNewYork.org is part of the national coalition ProtectingAmerica.org, which was formed in 2005 to lead a concentrated effort to improve the way America prepares for and protects its families, communities, consumers and economy from catastrophe. ProtectingAmerica.org is working to increase public awareness and consumer education, improve building codes, advocate for better land use planning and strengthen first responders. ProtectingAmerica.org supports legislation on the state and federal levels that furthers these efforts and also establishes a financial backstop to help make insurance more affordable and available for consumers. ProtectingAmerica.org currently consists of more than 125 member organizations including emergency management officials, first responders, disaster relief experts, large and small businesses, nonprofit organizations and insurers.
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