New York takes unprecedented steps ahead of Irene

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – New York City today  ordered the evacuation of more than 250,000 people and prepared  to shut down its entire mass transit system, both unprecedented  measures ahead of the expected battering from Hurricane Irene.
The powerful and unusually large storm trudged up the U.S.  East Coast today, threatening 55 million people including  more than 8 million in New York City, which was expecting heavy  winds late tomorrow or early on Sunday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered people living in low-lying  areas — including the Financial District surrounding Wall  Street in Manhattan — out of their homes by 5 p.m. (2100 GMT)  on Saturday, saying 91 emergency shelters would be open on  Friday.
The transit system that carries 8.5 million people a day  would start shutting down around noon (1600 GMT) on Saturday, a  process that could take eight hours.
“We’ve never done a mandatory evacuation before and we  wouldn’t be doing it now if we didn’t think this storm had the  potential to be very serious,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a  news conference.
New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo activated 900 National  Guard troops while airlines moved aircraft from the danger zone  and canceled at least 1,000 flights and the city’s four zoos  stocked up to keep the animals fed.
Bridges leading to the island of Manhattan could be closed  if winds exceed 60 mph (96 kph).
Police had a fleet of rescue boats at the ready in case  resident of low-lying areas near the waterfront were trapped by  the storm surge, which would be exacerbated by coincidental  high tides.
The evacuations zones are mostly along the waterfront of  the city — a complex geography of islands and peninsulas  surrounded by rivers, harbors and open sea.
In the Rockaways area of Queens that faces the Atlantic  Ocean, Destiny Crespo, 19, vowed to defy the evacuation order,  saying, “No matter what, we’re going to board up these windows,  we’re going to stay right here. … I am going to ride my way  out of it like I’m a surfer.”
But her mother, Genevieve Crespo, 42, was more worried. “I  am disabled. How am I going to get on the train with my  grandkids? We have no idea where to go or what to do,” she  said.
Benedict Willis, director of floor operations for  investment banking boutique Sunrise Securities, said the NYSE  had a responsibility to open Monday after the hurricane because  millions of investors would rely on it for prices.
“But if the waters rise this high,” he said gesturing at  the buzzing trading floor on Friday, “then it’s a bigger  problem than I can handle. My name’s not Noah.”
The evacuations were mandatory, technically punishable by a  $500 fine or 90 days in jail, but Bloomberg said, “We’re not  trying to punish people. We’re trying to protect them.”
“Nobody’s going to get fined. Nobody’s going to jail. But  if you don’t follow this, people might die,” Bloomberg said.
FIRST A QUAKE, THEN A HURRICANE
After the city experienced an unusually strong earthquake  centered in Virginia on Tuesday, it prepared for a rare  hurricane. Only five hurricanes in records dating to 1851 have  tracked within 75 miles (120 km) of New York City, the most  recent one being in 1985, according to weather.com.
“We are New Yorkers and we are tough. We like to think of  ourselves as tough,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “But we’re  also smart, and it’s smart to prepare. It’s smart to evacuate  … and it’s smart to evacuate now.”
Homebound elderly and hospital patients in low-lying areas  began to be evacuated earlier yesterday.
At Coney Island Hospital, ambulances were transporting 250  patients to other hospitals ahead of a shutdown set for 8 p.m.  (0000 GMT on Saturday), said Evelyn Hernandez, a hospital  spokeswoman.
The New York Stock Exchange was preparing a backup power  generator and bringing in extra fuel and food to avoid  disruptions when trade resumes on Monday. Around the corner,  the New York Fed rolled out contingency plans in order to  preserve the normal functioning of its open market operations  on Monday, a spokesman said.