East Hampton May Open High School as Shelter

East Hampton will wait to open its emergency shelter until once the effects of Hurricane Sandy are being felt here.

Richard A Klotzbier, the said officials would decide Monday, or even Tuesday, whether to open the emergency shelter at the East Hampton High School. It will depend on how hard the storm hits the area and the need for shelter among local residents, Klotzbier said.

Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit the state Monday around noon, exactly one year to the day after the state was hit by a nor’easter that dropped up to more than a foot of snow and cut power to hundreds of thousands.

If it does open, the shelter will provide bottled water, tap water, hot showers and possibly MREs (meals ready to eat). Klotzbier said the food provisions would come from the state or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

One of the important functions the shelter provided residents last year was water from an outside tap that several local horse farm owners used to provide large amounts of water for their animals.