Astorino: Irene’s Huge, But We’re Ready
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino urged citizens to take Hurricane Irene seriously and to not tempt fate, but said he saw no need for the county to declare a State of Emergency at this point and reiterated that the county is prepared to handle what is expected to be a Category 1 Hurricane beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday night.
“The best advice is for people to stay calm, stay informed,” Astorino said at a 6 p.m. press conference Saturday evening. “We will get through this.”
Twenty-one Westchester communities have declared a State of Emergency, Astorino said. The City of White Plains, the Village of Pleasantville, the Village of Croton and the Village and Town of Ossining have all done so.
Astorino noted that the county has had several days to prepare for the hurricane but still said people should take the storm, which he called “huge,” seriously and use common sense, even if it ends up being downgraded to a tropical storm. He said flooding was likely and told people to stay inside and off the roads if possible.
“It might be fun for surfers to go out and try to ride the waves and to maybe go swimming, but that would be dumb and that would be very dangerous,” Astorino said. “I think that people are cooperating now. People get it. It’s a bad storm coming.”
Shelters have been opened throughout the county, and Astorino said people would not be turned away for any reason. He added that pets are also welcome.
Astorino said the “zero hour” was 8 p.m. Saturday and the storm would be the worst at 11 a.m. Sunday. He said the county has extra public safety officials on call.
“I guess the biggest thing we’re concerned about is the confluence of the heavy winds with the high tide,” he said. “That could cause the most damage.”
Astorino told citizens to call 9-1-1 in emergencies and 2-1-1 in non-emergencies.
For updates, lists of shelters or other information visit www.westchestergov.com.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.