Civic leader pushes emergency preparedness

 

February 25, 2005

Civic leader pushes emergency preparedness

Civic leader pushes emergency preparedness

By Nick Buglione February 24, 2005

Traffic would pose a considerable obstacle in the event of a large-scale evacuation, according to Richard Bivone, an East Meadow civic and business leader.

The tsunami that slammed South Asia, claiming some 250,000 lives, resoundingly affirmed to the world that Mother Nature can sometimes be an overwhelmingly destructive force.
It has also prompted myriad questions on a local level -- specifically, how would we respond if a natural disaster of that magnitude struck Long Island?
It-s a question Nassau County officials admittedly don-t have an answer to yet, though they say they-re working on it.
We are on an island, and we are basically cut off from the rest of the country, said Richard Bivone, an East Meadow civic leader and president of the Nassau County Council of Chambers of Commerce. We-ve become complacent. We think that nothing can hurt us, but that-s not true.
Since the Dec. 26 tsunami, Bivone has ardently lobbied elected officials to consider the issues that would arise on Long Island if such a disaster were to strike -- particularly the coordination of a mass evacuation.
Nassau County is home to some 1.3 million people, and another 1.5 million live in neighboring Suffolk County. Factor in the population of approximately 5 million in Queens and Brooklyn, and the notion of a swift, orderly evacuation of Long Island seems impossible, Bivone said. The answer right now is we can-t evacuate Long Island, he said. There are only two egresses, the Throgs Neck Bridge and the Whitestone Bridge, that are in proximity to Nassau County. Three, if you want to count the Triborough Bridge. We are an island unto ourselves.
Richard Cardozo, a longtime East Meadow Fire Department volunteer, echoed Bivone. It could never happen, he said of a Long Island evacuation. Basically, on Long Island you have two ferry boats and two bridges. Where do you go? You-re not going to leave.
While scientists debate the likelihood of a tsunami striking the U.S.-s eastern seaboard, hurricanes similar to the four that hit Florida last year would pose the same problem, Bivone said.
The complications that would arise should a mass evacuation become necessary, however, are no secret to county officials. An evacuation is a near impossibility right now, said Richard Rotanz, commissioner of the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management, based at the Nassau County jail in East Meadow.
Rotanz went on to note, however, that his office is examining evacuation alternatives, including airlifting people off the island, but a viable plan is several years away.
Bivone believes officials also need to devise better emergency warning systems, evacuation routes, transportation alternatives and shelters. Stepping up education on what to do in the event of a catastrophe is imperative as well, he said.
According to Rotanz, the county has been working hard on this. In the last two years, we-ve done an array of things, he said, including the creation of the Office of Emergency Management and a task force dedicated to emergency planning. We still have a long way to go. It-s tough to get people to move.
Nassau and Suffolk counties are also working together, and are considering creating one emergency-management body to cover both regions, the commissioner said.
Rotanz previously worked for the Office of Emergency Management in New York City, where there is one fire department and one unified school district. In Nassau County, where there are some 71 fire departments and 45 school districts, coming up with a plan to shelter and feed victims, administer health care and ensure the continuity of government emergency can prove a daunting, he said.
Funding poses yet another issue, said Nassau County Legislator Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), and the state and federal governments need to offer additional aid to the county, since it-s so vulnerable and financially strapped. Long Island should secure additional money, because it-s so difficult to protect and evacuate, Gonzalves said. It-s extremely important that we get more money from the federal government.

Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
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