Leonard Symons, Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety, Town Of Oyster Bay (NY) addressed the Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners’ Association (NSWCA) as guest speaker with a timely topic of great importance to emergency responders, water commissioners, and Long Island consumers alike: Hurricane preparedness.
In the fact-filled informative meeting sponsored by the Roslyn Water District Commissioners Michael Kosinski, William Costigan, and Dr. Sanford Klein, Mr. Symons discussed tropical depressions, and hurricanes, and clarified the nature of meteorological advisories, watches and warnings. He also spoke of probabilistic Hurricane Storm Surge effects on Long Island water districts.
“The one thing that is certain in forecasting such storms is uncertainty. Hurricanes and tropical storms are feared for their winds, but 90% of all fatalities are from water. Unfortunately, social media is changing things, and tends to make everyone think that they are meteorologists. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Mr. Symons presented scientific data such as the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale and skewered many myths including what he termed ‘Hurricane Hype’. “With hurricanes and tropical storms, complacency presents the greatest danger of all”, Mr. Symons stressed, “and therefore education of the public, water commissioners and emergency responders is vital. You can’t expect the public to prepare properly if they don’t understand what to do.”
Mr. Symons stressed an educational 4-part common sense approach to hurricane season.
- Prepare and build an emergency kit;
- Know if and when to evacuate;
- Know what to do when a hurricane hits;
- Know what to do in the aftermath of a hurricane.
“It was enlightening to have Mr. Leonard Symons address the commissioners with such an interesting fact-filled presentation,” remarked Andrew N. Bader, NSWCA President and Plainview Water Commissioner. “We learn and we take these educational lessons to heart, which is why even in the worst part of Superstorm Sandy, no commissioner-run water district failed to deliver water.”
