HAMBURG, N.Y. — The Town of Hamburg has issued a mandatory evacuation order for neighbors in the Hoover Beach area ahead of what's expected to be a major winter storm.
Residents were asked to prepare for the worst and leave their homes by Thursday at 8 p.m., according to Emergency Manager Sean Crotty.
Crotty said that the potentially dangerous conditions and the likelihood that first responders won't be able to reach the area due to flooding were the reasons the mandatory order was issued.
"Safety is paramount for us. We want to make sure our residents are safe but our first responders are safe as well," he said.
Crotty said town officials were briefed by the National Weather Service, which has forecasted waves as high as 24 feet along Hoover Beach, near hurricane-force winds, and freezing spray from Lake Erie.
In addition to the evacuation order for Hoover Beach, the Town of Evans has issued a voluntary evacuation for residents in the Lake Erie Beach, Grandview Bay, Purvis Landing and Wendt Beach areas.
People in need of a place to go can head to the Lake Erie Beach Volunteer Fire Hall and Highland Hose Volunteer Fire Hall.
Neighbors were out Thursday afternoon boarding up windows along the north shore, mid-shore, and south shore. One group of guys filled the back of a pickup with plywood and power tools and traveled to several homes to help others out.
Several neighbors who planned to leave said they would be staying with family over the holiday weekend or finding a motel to stay at. Others, however, said they planned to ride the storm out, having done so in the past.
"We're just asking that everyone complies ... even the homes that may be unimpacted by the floodwaters," Crotty said.
Those planning to stay were largely on the north shore of Hoover Beach. They said that given their higher elevation and the typical flow of Lake Erie during previous winter storms they liked their chances and did not want to abandon their homes.
"Everybody stay safe and heed the evacuation advice because if you don't they're not going to send in rescue crews," said Steven Miska, a north shore resident who was still weighing whether to leave Thursday afternoon.
Hoover Beach President Carrie Meyer who moved into her home one year ago Thursday said while she understood the desire to stay, especially when speaking to lifelong residents, she remains "very concerned."
Meyer lives along the more susceptible south shore of Hoover Beach, which floods often during seiche events when strong winds and rapid changes in atmospheric pressure push water from one end of a body of water to the other.
"We're trying to make it clear that yes this is something very serious and how important it is for you to evacuate for your safety, for your family's safety, and the safety of the volunteers that come here," Meyer said.
North shore resident Steven Miska told 2 On Your Side via text all Hoover Beach needs for Christmas is to make it through the storm relatively unscathed.