The New York City Fire Department recently adopted rules implementing Local Law 103 of 2019. This law, which took effect on Oct. 6, 2019, requires apartment building owners (Group R-2 buildings and occupancies) within a hurricane evacuation zone, as designated by the Commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management (now New York City Emergency Management or NYCEM), to post a hurricane evacuation notice in a common area of the building.
The notice is intended to inform building occupants of the current hurricane evacuation zone designation for the building and the means by which building residents can determine the closest hurricane evacuation centers—namely, by calling 311 or viewing the online Hurricane Evacuation Zone finder operated by NYCEM.
The rule says the hurricane evacuation notice must be attached to the wall by adhesive or in a frame, displayed in an enclosed, locked bulletin board, or otherwise durably and securely posted.
Hurricane evacuation zones are the areas of the city that face the greatest storm surge dangers. There are six zones, decreasing in level of risk from 1 to 6. To find your building’s evacuation zone, visit https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/em/html/know-your-zone/knowyourzone.html.
On this page, you can access the NYC Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder. This map lets you know whether your building is in a hurricane evacuation zone, if there is an evacuation order in effect, and where the nearest evacuation center is located.
NYCEM offers two posters for each zone to comply with Local Law 103. The posters inform occupants of the hurricane evacuation zone for that building and how to find the closest hurricane evacuation centers.
The full poster contains information in 13 languages. And the small poster contains information only in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. The small poster should be used in buildings in which it is known that only those languages are spoken. Print the poster for your building’s hurricane evacuation zone and post it visibly in a common area. The posters are available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/em/resources/zoneposters.page.
The FDNY rules take effect on Jan. 1, 2021. Owners of buildings within these zones have until April 30, 2021, to comply with the Hurricane Evacuation Notice requirement.
In some extreme weather emergencies, such as hurricanes, the city may order evacuations in areas. If you live in a high-rise building, especially on the 10th floor or above, stay away from windows in case they break or shatter, or move to a lower floor.
Advance preparation:
During the storm: