Flood Zone NYC was born out of a frustration with the official NYC hurricane evacuation zone tool. I found that it took too many steps to find the most important information (if you were in a flood zone), and the information on what to do afterwards was a bit disjointed
The first changes to be made to the map was to reassign the colors used by OEM. Zone A is now red, where as before it was orange. Zone B is now orange, where before it was yellow. Zone C is now yellow where as before it was green. The use of green was particularly troublesome, as it became easy for viewers in safe zones to become concerned due to the appearance of parks when the flood zones were applied to online maps like Google Maps or Bing.
Flood Zone NYC is available for Android, Chrome, and the Mozilla App Store, and is pinnable to the homescreen on iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad as an HTML5 app. I hope to provide this experience to as many platforms as possible, and at the moment it should all of the up to date desktop browsers, as well as up to date webkit based mobile browsers, such as Android, iOS, WebOS and Playbook browsers.
Lastly, if you wish to get in contact, be free to send an e-mail to contact@darrellhanley.com or visit my official website, www.darrellhanley.com
Residents in Zone A face the highest risk of flooding from a hurricane's storm surge. Zone A includes all Low-lying costal areas and other areas that could experience storm surge from ANY hurricane making landfall close to New York City
Residents in Zone B may experience storm surge flooding from a Moderate (Category 2 or higher) hurricane.
Residents in Zone C may experience storm surge flooding from a MAJOR (Category 3 & 4) hurricane making landfall just south of New York City. A major hurricane is unlikely in New York City, but not impossible.
Residents who do not live in a hurricane evacuation zone face are unlikely to experience a storm surge flooding from a hurricane.
Develop a plan with your household members that outlines what to do, how to find each other, and how to communicate if a hurricane strikes New York.
If you rent your home, renter’s insurance will insure the items inside your apartment. If you are a homeowner, make sure your home is properly insured — flood and wind damage are not covered in a basic homeowner’s policy.
The city strongly recommends evacuees stay with friends or family who live outside evacuation zone boundaries. For those who have no other shelter, the City will open hurricane shelters throughout the five boroughs.
To ensure efficient use of resources, the City will ask all evacuees to report to an evacuation center. Once at the evacuation center, evacuees will either be assigned to a hurricane shelter in the same facility or transported to an associated hurricane shelter by bus.
Every household member should have a small Go Bag — a collection of items you may need during an evacuation packed in an easy-to-carry container such as a backpack. A Go Bag should be easily accessible if you have to leave your home in a hurry.
You may be instructed to shelter in place (stay at home) during a hurricane. Keep enough supplies in your home to survive for at least three days.
All areas of the city could face hurricane-related hazards such as high winds, flooding, tornadoes, and loss of utilities. You may be instructed to shelter in place (stay at home) for several days until the hurricane passes.
Residents of high-rise apartment buildings may face special risks from hurricanes even if they live outside evacuation zone boundaries.
If you live in a high-rise building outside an evacuation zone, be prepared to take shelter on or below the 10th floor.
If you live in a high-rise building located in an evacuation zone, heed evacuation orders.