Hurricanes don’t often reach the urbanized areas of New York and New Jersey, but the National Weather Service is concerned enough about the threat to urge better warnings for occupants of high-rise buildings.

The worry is driven by wind-related damage to high-rises on the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina and in Miami and Fort Lauderdale by Hurricane Wilma, said Mike Wyllie, meteorologist in charge at the weather service’s Upton, N.Y., office overseeing New York’s five boroughs. “There’s not anything in (the city’s plan) that addresses it at this point,” he said.

“They’re just using common sense and telling people to stay away from the windows. Should we indeed get one of these bad storms, we should be telling them that there’s a plan.”

Andrew Troisi, spokesman for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, said his agency is “working with the NWS to gain more information on the effects hurricanes can have on tall buildings, which are the homes and workplaces of many New Yorkers. Our continued partnership with the NWS will ensure that our plans and preparedness information reflect the most up-to-date and accurate scientific data available.”

Emergency officials typically advise people to evacuate when at risk of flooding, but to hunker down in low-lying areas to cope with hurricane-force winds. “We need to let people know that if they’re up on the 30th floor, they may need to go into the hallway, or to friends on the 10th floor,” Wyllie said, stressing that New York-area high-rises are older and more likely to be residential than those on the Gulf Coast.

High-rise buildings are vulnerable to hurricane-force winds, “particularly at the higher levels since wind speed tends to increase with height,” warns the National Hurricane Center’s Web site. “It is not uncommon for high-rise buildings to suffer a great deal of damage due to windows being blown out. Consequently, the areas around these buildings can be very dangerous.”

Wyllie made known his concerns at a recent meeting of National Weather Service officials to discuss lessons of the 2005 hurricane season, the nation’s worst. The service will discuss improving preparedness with local officials in advance of the 2006 season.

Meteorologists long have warned of New York City’s geographic vulnerability to hurricanes. They say the angles of the Atlantic coastline around the mouth of the Hudson River, where New York and New Jersey meet, would amplify the effects of a storm surge and cause severe flooding.

Historically, the city has faced a major hurricane once every 90 years on average. The last extreme blow came from the 1938 “Long Island Express,” which came ashore on Long Island and killed 700 people, destroyed 8,900 buildings and left 63,000 people homeless.

But Wyllie said there have been recent close calls, including Hurricane Isabel in 2003: “People don’t realize how close we came with Isabel. Even though it hit in North Carolina, the effects were felt in southern New Jersey. If that storm had moved 300 miles to the north, we would have had problems in New York.”

Mariana Leckner, principal planner for New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management, said her agency has been coordinating with cities and counties on hurricane planning, including giving advice to people in high-rises.

“This is something that requires public outreach and education,” Leckner said. “The perfect place to start is with high-rises and special-needs facilities that have high proportions of seniors.”

In Atlantic City, where the New Jersey coastline is lined with high-rise gambling casinos and hotels, emergency management director Tom Foley has met regularly with property managers on developing similar plans.

Foley recalled someone telling him that most people would avoid the casinos if a severe storm approached.

“I said, “They’re gamblers – they’re still going to come,”‘ he said. “We have to realize there would be people thinking they might get a better table, or better odds.”

LF/RB END McCUTCHEON

(Chuck McCutcheon can be contacted at chuck.mccutcheon(at)newhouse.com)

AP-NY-12-30-05 1221EST

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