With potentially rough hurricane season ahead, officials urge Long Islanders to prepare

Emergency management officials are reminding Long Islanders to be prepared for a potentially unprecedented North Atlantic Hurricane season by keeping an emergency go bag on hand, making an evacuation plan and signing up for emergency alerts.

The reminders came during a news conference hosted by the American Red Cross and the city of Long Beach, following last week's National Oceanic and Atmosphere Association forecast up to 25 tropical storms and seven major hurricanes this year, the most the agency has ever predicted.

“We know that one storm can devastate a community and the one thing we can do right now is be prepared,” said Stacey Sweet, a board member of the American Red Cross on Long Island.

The event was held on the boardwalk under a sunny, cloudless sky but officials stressed the importance of being prepared for a stormier day.

The North Atlantic hurricane season, which is the one that affects Long Island and the tristate, runs from June through November, though most hurricanes occur from August through October.

Jose Dominguez, CEO of American Red Cross on Long Island, said each member of the household should have their own bag ready to go. Inside should be water, canned food, a flashlight, needed medication, a first aid kit and more.

Dominguez said the organization is responding to nearly twice as many disasters nationwide as it was a decade ago due to the climate change-driven increase in weather events. The frequency of severe weather on Long Island has increased as well with a rise in flash flooding and severe storms that are not classified as hurricanes.

On Sept. 29, elderly residents were evacuated from their homes in an Elmont retirement co-op to a Red Cross shelter in New Hyde Park due to flooding from an unnamed storm.

“It doesn’t have to be a major event — everything is changing,” said Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Richard Corbett. “We respond to so many of those events that aren’t … at the top of the news.”

To stay informed, Suffolk County residents can text “Suffolkalerts” to 67283 to sign up for text alerts. Nassau County residents can sign up for alerts on the county’s website.

“If there is one thing that keeps emergency managers up at night, it’s that people won’t be informed when they need the information the most,” said Suffolk Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner Patrick Beckley.

Beckley noted the Suffolk Office of Emergency Management offers a tool on its website allowing residents to look up their address to determine if it is in a flood zone and if so, which one. He encouraged residents to “know their zone.”

Above all else, he said, residents should heed evacuation orders if the situation arises. The call is typically made by the county executive with input from emergency officials.

“We're not doing it because we want to see people leave their homes,” Beckley said. “We're doing it because we want to see them survive.”

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.