HAUPPAUGE, NY –Suffolk Executive Steve Levy conducted a conference call with supervisors and village mayors from across the county today to advise them about numerous steps being taken by the county to prepare for the potential impact of ‘Hurricane Earl’ later this week.

“We had the opportunity to discuss the weather patterns as well as the ways we could coordinate our efforts,” said Levy. “We have information showing that while we are not likely to get hit full force by the hurricane, we are going to get at least the remnants -- flooding, erosion, heavy surf action and some wash over onto exposed roadways.”

The county executive cautioned, however, that the storm path could change and conditions could be more severe. He advised residents to make preparations to secure their homes and to stock up on essential supplies such as batteries, canned goods and other non-perishable items. Levy also urged Suffolk residents to sign up for the Code RED emergency notification method, which utilizes a high-speed telephone communication service to deliver customized, pre-recorded emergency messages directly to Suffolk County homes and business at the proven capacity of millions of calls per day. Code Red also has high speed email and text messaging capability and can be accessed through the county website at www.suffolkcountyny.gov .

Levy was joined at a news conference by Suffolk’s Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (FRES) Commissioner Joseph F. Williams in briefing the media on the latest information associated with the hurricane. The officials said they had obtained key information about the story during a series of meetings and conference calls in recent days with weather service and emergency management officials both locally and nationally.

Levy and Williams noted that rains are expected to begin on Thursday night and continue until possibly Saturday morning, with the heaviest rains on Friday night. National Weather Service reports were calling for the potential of one- to two-foot water surges on Friday, along with tropical-force winds of up to 30 miles per hour. On the East End, officials said there remains a potential for hurricane-force wind gusts. Off-shore waves east of Moriches could reach 10-12 feet and up to 8-10 feet west of Moriches.