Truncated Hermine TV alert wrongly airs evacuation order to Long Island

ISLIP, N.Y. – Federal officials in New York are investigating an emergency alert system after a mistakenly truncated message about storm system Hermine wrongly advised TV watchers on Long Island of an ordered evacuation, authorities said Sunday.

The Saturday night confusion started after Suffolk County emergency officials used an aspect of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s alert system for the first time since gaining access to it after Superstorm Sandy. They had hoped to advise viewers that a voluntary evacuation had been ordered for Fire Island, a thin strip of land off Long Island’s southern shore and a popular summertime destination.

Instead, somehow only the first part of the message – that an evacuation order had been issued – was broadcast to viewers. That the order was voluntary and only applied to those on Fire Island didn’t make it onto TV screens.

“It caused obvious and expected questioning,” said Gregory Miniutti, chief of communication for Suffolk County’s Department of Fire Rescue.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many TV viewers saw the wrong alert. Nearly 3 million people live on Long Island.

Hermine spun away from the East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to whip up dangerous waves and rip currents and keep some beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the Labor Day weekend. As it churned hundreds of miles off shore in the Atlantic Ocean, the system picked up strength, and forecasters said it could regain hurricane force later as it travels up the coast.

Tropical storm-force winds were possible Monday in New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie warned that minor to moderate flooding was still likely in coastal areas and said the storm will cause major problems.

“Don’t be lulled by the nice weather,” Christie said, referring to the bright sunny skies along the Jersey Shore on Sunday.