“The National Guard sent down high-axle vehicles,” Corbett explained of the assistance Long Beach received during Tropical Storm Irene. “They actually came late into the event … at a time when we were out doing patrols … [The vehicles] would have helped us get down to narrower blocks and near the water so people would see us in case we were needed.”

New York National Guard has stocks of equipment set aside specifically for storms and is also prepared to deploy aircraft and satellite communications systems as needed, according to the Governor’s office. The New York National Guard has more than 900 high axle trucks and Humvees which can negotiate flooded areas, as well as long-distance transportation assets and engineering equipment which can be used as necessary.