Preparing the Rockaways, Seven Years After Sandy
With climate change strengthening storms, what emergency preparedness strategy does New York City have to get the vulnerable peninsula ready?
by Diara J. Townes and Lakshmi Sivadas
When Hurricane Sandy hit the Rockaways on October 29, 2012, hundreds of thousands of peninsula residents were left in shock.
“I was here for [Hurricane] Irene. I didn’t evacuate,” said Arley Tapirian. “I thought, last time wasn’t so bad. So I stayed. I was going to tough it out. Then Sandy came.”
Tapirian, a 56-year-old Rockaways resident living in Arverne, lost power in the middle of the night. Then, her cell phone died. She jumped on her bike to see how the town was looking. But that’s when the ocean came up through the storm drains and flooded the streets with water and sand in seconds. She quickly returned home, where she, her three dachshunds and her neighbors were stranded for weeks, and for thousands of others, months.
Tapirian’s experience is not an isolated case. Across the region, person after person recounted how Hurricane Irene’s weakened storm state gave them a false sense of safety, leaving them under-prepared and overwhelmed for the next one.
With climate change adding heat and moisture to the atmosphere, the ingredients of powerful hurricanes, millions of people along coastal regions need to actively prepare for more intense storms.
Here’s what New Yorkers in the Rockaways can do before the next superstorm hits.
1. Familiarize Yourself with the City’s Emergency Response Strategy
New York City’s Emergency Management Department has created various strategies to help New Yorkers know what to do in the event of hazardous storm conditions. The changing climate along with sea level rise will exacerbate storm surges, the main and most damaging aspect of Hurricane Sandy. For coastal areas like the Rockaways, NYCEM has a specific response strategy.
The “Know Your Zone” is the regional evacuation campaign launched as a result of Superstorm Sandy. “In partnership with the National Hurricane Center, we did a block by block analysis for storm surge threats to create these zones,” said Meg Pribram, the assistant commissioner for NYCEM’s Planning and Preparedness division. “Since Sandy, the whole Rockaway peninsula has been designated an evacuation zone.”
Part of her job is to keep New Yorkers ready for the next weather event. “We work closely with the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency and Recovery and other city agencies,” she stated. “It’s important to have coordination when preparing for storm emergencies.”
When storms are approaching, the city issues emergency warnings in various ways. According to a study conducted by researchers at Utah State University and Colorado State University, online communication from the police and fire department was not streamlined. This resulted in missed opportunities to help residents prior to Sandy’s arrival.
While reiterating NYCEM’s efforts to coordinate effective communication strategies for emergency 911 calls, Pribram also shared that help may not come as quickly as needed if the emergency is located in an evacuated and likely storm-damaged area.
“How the hell am I supposed to charge my phone?” — Sonia Moise, Edgemere resident.
2. Prepare Emergency Supplies
As obvious as it may sound, especially in hindsight, many residents were under-prepared for the storm.
“My friend Dave has a boat, in Broad Channel,” continued Tapirian. “He had all the survival gear. He had the marine radio; he was all over it. I had candles.” She was without power for eleven days. Thousands of New Yorkers on the peninsula were without power for months, such as Sonia Moise.
Residents who stayed behind were underprepared, stranded in most cases. Cars were totaled by flooding from Jamaica Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, or both.
“It was crazy,” said Moise, a resident of Edgemere in East Rockaway. “I had no vehicle, nowhere to go. I was just stuck. I’m saying to myself — what’s going to happen after this?”
Moise’s two vehicles, her personal car and a van to help transport her two kids and aging parents, were destroyed in the storm’s floodwaters. “We [had] no power so you don’t know if someone is coming since you can’t even listen to the news.”
For the Rockaways, it’s vital that residents create their own emergency supply kits. The singular MTA train line, connecting the peninsula to the mainland of Queens, was destroyed. Sections of the busiest thoroughfares of Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Shore Front Parkway were unnavigable due to literal tons of sand and debris strewn across the roadways. Entering and leaving the evacuation zone was virtually impossible for thousands of people.
In days, New Yorkers found themselves relying on the kindness of neighbors, charitable, faith-based organizations and the Red Cross for help. While many items can be considered essential in a storm as dangerous as Sandy, Rockaway residents especially need to set aside:
- Enough fresh water and nonperishable food for seven days. During Hurricane Sandy, residents did not report seeing the Red Cross present in their areas until a week after the storm. In some areas, it was two weeks later.
- High-powered flashlights, hand-crank or battery-operated AM/FM radio, and several days’ worth of batteries. When the power went out in the Rockaways, it was gone for days in some neighborhoods, and for months in others. While residents hope that PSEG, the energy providers in this section of Queens, are prepared for the next storm, New Yorkers who remain behind need to invest in generators or other long-term portable energy kits.
- Solar batteries and portable cell phone chargers. Communication beyond the streets residents lived on was near impossible in the days and weeks after Sandy. Even if modems and routers go down, as long as cell phone towers remain standing, people can make contact with family and friends off the peninsula via mobile devices, if they’re charged.
“I was working at a job which left me with my laptop and my job phone,” shared Moise. “It was a Verizon phone and that was the only phone working at the time…I said, ‘I can’t be on the phone for too long right now because I have no power;’ how the hell [was] I supposed to charge my phone?”
Most information regarding aid and assistance and direction was communicated by word of mouth, leading to many instances of confusion and frustration on when and how help was going to come.
The city’s Ready NY campaign provides opportunity for New Yorkers to request NYCEM representatives to share emergency preparedness events for a variety of topics. According to city data, 118 events have been presented through Ready NY in the Rockaways since 2013.
3. Have Emergency Materials On Hand
The city’s Emergency Management Department provides emergency preparedness documents online and as printable brochures. In the case of the Rockaways, Pribram recommends residents have the Ready NYC app installed on their smart devices. She also suggested keeping one of their pocket emergency guide on-hand.
They’re available in 13 different languages and as well as an audio file, aimed at different emergency situation. Finally, Pribram and her division at NYCEM recommend New Yorkers develop their own emergency plans using their thorough and easy-to-follow workbook. “There is a suite of potential places for people to find recovery and preparedness information,” said Pribram. “Residents can call 311, go to nyc.gov, or visit their community or faith-based organization, as many local groups have paper materials on hand.”
“Our Ready NY events are directed at helping people set up their own emergency plans,” added Justin Bennett, the press officer with the city’s Department of Emergency Management. “We walk them through the process, tailoring the plans to their concerns.”
For the Rockaways, there are specific hurricane-related questions to have on their personal emergency plan, such as knowing where to go and how to get to a safe place when an evacuation order is issued.
“I was in shock, but I survived it.” — Arley Tapirian, Arverne resident.
4. Know Where Distribution Centers are Located
Most New Yorkers can call 311 or reach out to their community board or local civic association to find out where distribution centers will be set up post-disaster. NYCEM has a program called “Share Your Space,” where local businesses, schools, community centers and so forth are designated as emergency centers for various assistance needs in the aftermath of an emergency situation.
The parameters that determine which spaces are considered safe depends on accessibility, including by cars, pedestrians and wheelchairs, access to water, and space to store emergency supplies.
Rockaway residents have shared some preferred locations where distribution centers could be set up across the peninsula in hours and days after a storm disaster:
- The Key Food grocery store parking lot near Beach 90th street
- The Action Center on Beach 55th street
- The Skate Park at Beach 90th street
However, New Yorkers in this southernmost section of Queens will likely be unable to have access to this information prior to a hurricane event. This is because it’ll depend on the structural integrity of the “Share Your Space” facility, which can only be determined by verifying the buildings in-person.
And, as Pribram shared, NYCEM can’t say what the distribution or help centers will be, or where they will be located, as those places “may not be in use after a storm hits,” and they’d rather not disseminate information that may be inaccurate, potentially leading to unnecessary risks to public safety.
Additionally, since the peninsula will likely have been evacuated, emergency department representatives and emergency services will not arrive until after the order is lifted, which could be days later, depending on the storm’s damage.
5. Finally, New Yorkers in the Rockaways should heed the evacuation order.
Being prepared for the next Sandy is critical, but if a storm at the same caliber of damage were to approach the city again, the best way to prepare is to get out of harm’s way.
The assistant commissioner was clear on why people must leave should the mayor or governor issue an evacuation order.
“We can’t guarantee the safety of first responders,” she said. In the Rockaways, with its limited public transportation, it will become significantly more inaccessible in the immediate hours and days after a storm disaster.
The assistant commissioner also wanted to remind residents that they can contact the city’s Emergency Department via 311 or nyc.gov if they’re having difficulty evacuating, acknowledging the real issues people have, such as not having friends or family to stay with, not having the means or ability to evacuate safely, or having pets to care for.
Tapirian doesn’t regret ignoring the evacuation order and staying on the peninsula with her three dachshunds during the super storm, but says next time will be different. “I was in shock, but I survived it…I know what to do now.”
