User:12george1/Preparations for Hurricane Sandy

Preparations for Hurricane Sandy were instituted throughout the Greater Antilles and the East Coast of the United States.

Greater Antilles

Tropical cyclone warnings and watches were posted as Sandy approached Jamaica. At 15:00 UTC on October 22, a tropical storm watch was issued for the entire island. The tropical storm watch was upgraded to a tropical storm warning at 09:00 UTC on the following day. Simultaneously, a hurricane watch was issued for the island. Later on October 23, the tropical storm warning was increased to a hurricane warning. Around that time, the hurricane watch was discontinued. At 09:00 UTC on October 25, the hurricane warning was also canceled. Acting Prime Minister Peter Phillips urged people to take this storm seriously. In preparation of the storm, many residents stocked up on supplies and reinforced roofing material. Government officials shut down schools and government buildings prior to the arrival of Sandy. Meanwhile, numerous curfews, lasting up to 48 hours in major towns, were put in place to protect residents, properties, and to prevent crime. Authorities also closed the island's international airports. Cruise ships also changed their itineraries to avoid the storm. More than 1,000 people went to shelters, according to the Office of Disaster Preparedness. Catholic Relief Services pre-positioned relief supplies and prepared staff for damage assessments and restoring communications.

At 09:00 UTC on October 23, a tropical storm watch was issued for Haiti. Nine hours later, it was upgraded to a tropical storm warning. Haiti remained until the tropical storm warning until it was discontinued at 15:00 UTC on October 25. The Haitian National Red Cross Society activated sound trucks to convey warning messages. Emergency response teams were placed on stand by and prepared to distributed emergency supplies to up to 11,000 families. According to a tweet from the Civil Protection, every department of Haiti was under a red alert by late on October 24.

In Dominican Republic, every province was under a level of alert. Nine provinces were issued a red alert, including Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabón, Elías Piña, Independencia, Monte Cristi, San Juan, and Pedernales. Another nine provinces – Duarte, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel, Peravia, San Cristóbal, San José de Ocoa, Sánchez Ramírez, Santiago Rodríguez, and Valverde – were placed under a yellow alert. The remaining 14 provinces were placed under a green alert – Distrito Nacional, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Hermanas Mirabal, La Altagracia, La Romana, María Trinidad Sánchez, Monte Plata, Puerto Plata, Samaná, San Pedro de Macorís, Santiago, and Santo Domingo.

The Government of Cuba issued a hurricane watch at 15:00 UTC on October 23, from Camagüey Province eastward to Guantánamo Province. Six hours later, the hurricane watch was upgraded to a hurricane warning. At 15:00 UTC on October 25, the hurricane warning was cancelled. Prior to the storm, more than 1,200 Civil Defense units in Cuba evacuated over 340,000 people. Most of them stayed with family and friends, while approximately 14,349 people sought shelter at 432 evacuation centers.

United States

Tropical cyclone warnings and watches

Forecast track of Sandy striking the Mid-Atlantic as a hurricane or extratropical cyclone of equivalent intensity. Notice the lack of warnings and watches north of North Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center began issuing tropical cyclone warnings and watches at 09:00 UTC on October 24, with a tropical storm watch in Florida from the Jupiter Inlet to Craig Key. Three hours later, the portion south of Ocean Reef was discontinued. At 15:00 UTC on October 24, the tropical storm watch was extended northward to the Brevard–Volusia county line. About six hours later, the tropical storm watch was extended further north to Flagler Beach. Simultaneously, a tropical storm warning was issued from Deerfield Beach to the Sebastian Inlet. At 03:00 UTC on October 25, a tropical storm warning was posted for Lake Okeechobee. Approximately six hours later, the tropical storm watch from Craig Key to Flagler Beach was extended northward to Fernandina Beach. A separate tropical storm watch was issued from the mouth of the Savannah River in South Carolina to the Oregon Inlet in North Carolina at 09:00 UTC on October 26. Six hours later, the a portion of the tropical storm watch from Ocean Reef to Craig Key was discontinued.

The tropical storm warning along the east coast of Florida from Deerfield Beach to Flagler Beach was extended further north to St. Augustine at 21:00 UTC on October 26, and discontinued for Lake Okeechobee. Simultaneously, a separate tropical storm warning was posted from the mouth of the Santee River in South Carolina to Duck, North Carolina. Early on October 27, the tropical storm warning in Florida was discontinued south of the Jupiter Inlet. Several hours later, the tropical storm warning was condensed again and was not in effect for areas south of Sebastian Inlet. At 15:00 UTC on October 27, the tropical storm watch was cancelled from St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach. Simultaneously, the tropical storm warning from Sebastian Inlet to St. Augustine was also discontinued. At 03:00 UTC on October 28, the tropical storm watch from the Savannah River to the Santee River was discontinued. Six hours later, the tropical storm warning from the mouth of the Santee River to Duck was condensed to include only from the latter location to Cape Fear. The tropical storm warning was condensed again at 21:00 UTC and now covered from Surf City to Duck. By 21:00 UTC on October 29, all tropical cyclone warnings and watches in the United States were cancelled.

Multi-state preparations

President Barack Obama was briefed by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate, National Hurricane Center (NHC) Director Richard Knabb, and Homeland Security Advisor John O. Brennan for updates on Hurricane Sandy and federal actions to prepare for the storm. Obama directed Administrator Fugate to ensure that all available federal resources were used to support state and local responders along the East Coast of the United States. Fugate then conducted a media briefing with National Centers for Environmental Prediction Director Louis Uccellini and NHC Branch Chief James Franklin.

National Weather Service Acting Director Laura Furgione, FEMA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Response James Kish gave a congressional briefing hosted by the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. FEMA deployed Incident Management Assistance Teams to Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont to assist states with coordination, while positing liaison officers at emergency operation centers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The National Guard of the United States deployed more than 61,000 personnel along the East Coast of the United States and coordinated with authorities in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

On October 27, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Fugate reached out to the governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the mayors of New York and Washington, D.C., to ensure that they were given the support needed for preparations of Hurricane Sandy.

On October 28, Obama signed emergency declarations for Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, allowing federal support to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety. Later that day, the president conducted a conference call with Governors and Mayors from potentially impacted areas to receive an update on preparedness efforts Obama was joined in the call by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Fugate, Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Richard Reed, governors Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, Jack Markell of Delaware, Martin O'Malley of Maryland, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, and Bob McDonnell of Virginia, as well as Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray. FEMA External Affairs Private Sector Division held a conference call with National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC) and its private sector partners, to share plans and raise any challenges that were expected.

Later on October 28, over 1,032 FEMA personnel were positioned along the East Coast of the United States and worked to support disaster preparedness and response operations, including search and rescue, situational awareness, communications, and logistical support. Additionally, FEMA's Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) personnel and teams were in place or en route to Delaware, the New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. to support the states with secure and non-secure voice, video, and information services, operations, and logistics support to state response operations, and with any requests for assistance. Response personnel were also deployed to FEMA's Regional Response Coordination Centers (RRCC) in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Small Business Administration (SBA) urged business owners to ensure their business was ready for the storm and use the SBA preparedness checklist.

Southern United States

In Florida, public schools were closed on October 26 in Okeechobee and Palm Beach counties, as well as the Treasure Coast. Several charter and privates school also cancelled classes. A Russian intelligence-gathering ship was allowed to stay in port in Jacksonville, not far from the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.

The American Red Cross prepared for significant snowfall in West Virginia and coordinated response planning with state and county emergency management agencies. Governor of West Virginia Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency ahead of storm on October 29. Up to 2 to 3 ft (0.6–0.9 m) of snow was forecast for mountainous areas of the state.

Mid-Atlantic

Beginning on October 25, the American Red Cross encouraged residents of New York to download the Red Cross Hurricane App, which included a flashlight, strobe light, an alarm, and the "I'm Safe" button, which allowed individuals to inform friends and family that they are safe, with the use of social media.

Midwest

The NWS issued a storm warning for Lake Huron on October 29 that called for wave heights of 26 ft (7.9 m), and possibly as high as 38 ft (12 m). Lake Michigan waves were expected to reach 19 ft (5.8 m), with a potential of 33 ft (10 m) on October 30. Flood warnings were issued in Chicago on October 29, where wave heights were expected to reach 18 to 23 ft (5.5 to 7.0 m) in Cook County and 25 ft (7.6 m) in northwest Indiana. Gale warnings were issued for Lake Michigan and Green Bay in Wisconsin until the morning of October 31, and waves of 33 ft (10 m) in Milwaukee and 20 ft (6.1 m) in Sheboygan were predicted for October 30. The actual waves reached about 20 ft (6.1 m) but were less damaging than expected. The village of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin urged a voluntary evacuation of its lakefront area, though few residents signed up, and little flooding actually occurred.

Michigan was impacted by a winter storm system coming in from the west, mixing with cold air streams from the Arctic and colliding with Hurricane Sandy. The forecasts slowed shipping traffic on the Great Lakes, as some vessels sought shelter away from the peak winds, except those on Lake Superior. Detroit-based DTE Energy released 100 contract line workers to assist utilities along the eastern U.S. with storm response, and Consumers Energy did the same with more than a dozen employees and 120 contract employees. Due to the widespread power outages, numerous schools had to close, especially in St. Clair County and areas along Lake Huron north of Metro Detroit.

As far as Ohio's western edge, areas were under a wind advisory. All departing flights at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport were canceled until October 30 at 19:00 UTC.