2011/08/29
By Rozanna Latiff
news@nst.com.my
A taxi whizzes past Times Square in New York City as authorities ordered evacuations and transit shutdowns on Saturday. — Reuters picture
As Hurricane Irene battered the east coast of the United States yesterday, Malaysians there were either evacuated or holed up in their homes or hotel rooms, bracing for the worst like the rest around them.
At press time, at least nine people were reported dead as Irene swept in from the Atlantic, in what meteorological agencies said was a "weakened" storm, with wind strength diminished substantially to 120kph, according to wire agencies.
That meant Irene was at the threshold of hurricane status but it still caused widespread damage as lightning, tornadoes and floods were reported all along
most parts of the coast.
Among the Malaysians stuck in New York City, where Irene is the first hurricane in a generation to have hit, were Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi and his family.
Some 370,000 people were ordered to evacuate flood-prone areas in New York, including near Wall Street. Even the underground subway system had been shut, prompting Puad to describe the city as a "ghost town".
He said he and his family were "bracing for the worst" in their hotel rooms while waiting for the storm to pass.
"We've been told to expect tornadoes and flooding. I don't know when my family and I will be able to leave our hotel or the city, as all the airports and road tunnels have been closed," he told the New Straits Times about 5.30am local time (5.30pm in Malaysia).
Puad, who was on a family holiday in the US, said the city's streets had emptied as torrential rain beat down and wind speeds rose.
Puad said he had originally planned to attend a buka puasa gathering with Malaysian students in New York and had just arrived in the city when news of the hurricane broke three days ago.
"Since then, we've been stranded here. Luckily, we have food and supplies."
The family, he said, was staying at the Radisson Hotel, in central New York, and was keeping in close contact with the Malaysian consular-general in the city.
The consulate, Puad said, had informed him that most Malaysian
students in the city had already been evacuated.
However, he was unsure of the situation with students in other affected areas such as New Jersey and Washington, DC.
"It's difficult to get information as communication lines are constantly interrupted. Even the local television stations and news channels have put their programming on hold."
Bernama reported that Malaysian students there and staff of the Malaysian permanent mission to the United Nations had evacuated their homes on Saturday evening.
Among the evacuees were Loh Teck Siong, counsellor and head
of chancery of the mission, and his family.
Loh said he, his wife and 13-year-old son had moved to the mission by 3pm on Saturday.
Joining him at the mission were the Defence Ministry's representative, Wan Nazarudin Wan Ngah, his wife and their three children, aged 6, 9 and 11.
Loh said his home at 10, Waterside Plaza, on 23rd Street in Manhattan, facing the East River, is in the Zone A (prime) evacuation area.
In New Jersey, 20 Malaysian students, who are in their final year of engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, were asked to evacuate on Friday.
Hoboken lies on the west bank of the Hudson River.
The students, who lived outside the institute, had moved in with their Malaysian friends staying within the campus area, said Farhan Hassan, 23, a chemical engineering student.
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