Eye of the Storm

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

A local news station in Florida was reporting yesterday that it did a survey and found that 31% of persons asked said this year’s storm season has caused them to think about leaving. And who can blame them. Watching the damage done in Florida by Hurricane Jeanne, which came after Charley, Frances, and Ivan, we ourselves have been near to remarking about how all those who left New York to retire in the lower tax, warmer-weather state of Florida should have stuck around here in the city. But that would be tempting fate.


Hurricanes, after all, aren’t limited to the South. The Encyclopedia of New York City reminds us of the hurricane that struck here in September of 1821. It caused tides 9 feet above normal and flooded much of Lower Manhattan. The Hurricane of 1938 hit New England and Long Island worse than New York City, but it still caused widespread flooding and power outages in the city and shut the subways down, the encyclopedia tells us. Hurricane Hazel of 1954, which was centered in Pennsylvania, brought a wind gust of 113 miles an hour to Manhattan, the encyclopedia says.


Given that the remnants of two hurricanes this year have already managed to snarl subway service here in New York, it seems an opportune moment for authorities, businesses, and private citizens here to review hurricane-preparedness plans. In the meantime, our sympathies go out to those who suffered losses in Florida, Haiti, Jamaica, and all the other places where New Yorkers have friends and family who have been affected by the mighty winds.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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