Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Sunday ordered the evacuation of 375,000 people from low-lying areas in New York City in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy, signifying officials' growing concern about the severity of the storm and its impact on the five boroughs.

The mayor also said all of the city's 1,750 public schools will be closed on Monday, and the city's subwaysystem is shutting down as of 7 p.m. Sunday.

'This evacuation is mandatory it is for your own safety,' Mr. Bloomberg said during a news conference at the city's Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn. 'This is a serious and dangerous storm.'

Residents of the city's 'Zone A' area are ordered to leave by 7 p.m. Sunday. This area includes Coney Island, Manhattan Beach, Red Hook and other areas along the East River in Brooklyn; all of the Rockaways, Hamilton Beach and Broad Channel in Queens; nearly all of the coastal areas of Staten Island; some patches of the South Bronx; and Battery Park City and portions of Lower Manhattan.

The city will shut down the elevators in all 26 of the public housing developments in these low-lying areas, beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday. Housing officials have begun knocking on every door to alert residents to the evacuation, the mayor said.

Police officers will also be using loud speakers to notify residents in the low-lying areas about the evacuation.

Mr. Bloomberg said the forecastmagnitude of the storm surge has worsened, which prompted him to order the evacuation. Officials currently estimate the surge at six to 11 feet, the mayor said.

People who refuse to evacuate will not be arrested, the mayor said. 'But they are being, I would argue, very selfish. They are not only endangering their own lives, they're endangering the lives of others because in an emergency we aren't going to leave them to die. We're going to come in and save them.'

The city opened 72 evacuation centers in public schools on Sunday morning. Pets are welcome.

But the mayor urged the public to re-locate to friends or family before going to a public shelter.

As of late Sunday afternoon, there were hundreds of people in the city's evacuation shelter, a tiny percentage of the 70,000 available spots. Last year, during Tropical Storm Irene, the mayor estimated that 60% of those ordered to evacuated complied.

'Hopefully, this time, more people will listen,' he said.

'If you refuse to evacuate, you're not only putting yourself at risk, but also the first responders who will have to assist you in an emergency,' he said after touring an emergency shelter in Manhattan.

Mr. Bloomberg said he didn't expect to add more areas to be evacuated.

MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL

• system [´sistəm]   n.系统，体系，制度   (初中英语单词)
• conference [´kɔnfərəns]   n.讨论(会)；会谈   (初中英语单词)
• management [´mænidʒmənt]   n.管理；处理；经营   (初中英语单词)
• channel [´tʃænəl]   n.海峡；航道；途径   (初中英语单词)
• beginning [bi´giniŋ]   n.开始，开端；起源   (初中英语单词)
• estimate [´estimət, ´estimeit]   n.估计；评价 vt.估价   (初中英语单词)
• selfish [´selfiʃ]   a.自私的，利己的   (初中英语单词)
• percentage [pə´sentidʒ]   n.百分数；比例；部分   (初中英语单词)
• available [ə´veiləbəl]   a.可用的；有效的   (初中英语单词)
• assist [ə´sist]   v.协助；援助；搀扶   (初中英语单词)
• emergency [i´mə:dʒənsi]   n.事变；紧急关头   (高中英语单词)
• battery [´bætəri]   n.炮兵连；炮台；电池   (高中英语单词)
• notify [´nəutifai]   vt.通知；报告；宣告   (高中英语单词)
• tropical [´trɔpikəl]   a.热带地区的   (高中英语单词)
• anticipation [æn,tisi´peiʃən]   n.预期；预料；期望   (英语四级单词)
• hurricane [´hʌrikən]   n.飓风   (英语四级单词)
• severity [si´veriti]   n.严厉；严重；苛刻   (英语四级单词)
• subway [´sʌbwei]   n.地铁；地道   (英语四级单词)
• manhattan [mæn´hætən]   n.曼哈顿   (英语四级单词)
• magnitude [´mægnitju:d]   n.宏大；重要性；大小   (英语四级单词)
• impact [´impækt]   n.影响，作用；冲击   (英语六级单词)
• forecast [´fɔ:kɑ:st]   vt.&n.预测；预报   (英语六级单词)