The risks to the New York Metropolitan Region also include wind and flooding damage from winter nor’easter storms which can be as serious, or even more dangerous, than rarer hurricanes. pre-1800) is now a 24-year flood event and in 30 years will be a 5-year flood event. When added to rising sea level, what was a 500-year flood event before the anthropogenic era (i.e. For example, research suggests that hurricanes that have hit the New York City area since 1970 are more intense or have larger wind fields, producing higher storm surge and flood risk. These storms will cause more damage if they follow past storm tracks. As the world's oceans steadily become warmer storms are becoming stronger and larger. īecause of global warming, oceanographic and meteorological experts currently predict that increasingly warmer future ocean surface temperature is the "new normal", implying that extreme weather events like Hurricanes Sandy and Maria could become more intense and possibly more frequent during future hurricane seasons. Nevertheless, as the largest storm in extent ever recorded by the National Weather Service (at 1100 miles in diameter), Sandy's storm-surge impacts on New York and New Jersey were severe. Technically, Sandy was downgraded from a category one hurricane to an extra-tropical storm just before it made landfall in New Jersey on October 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy's power came from unusually warm water lying off the mid-Atlantic Coast and the merging of two major storm systems. Accordingly, hurricanes are most dangerous when their track lies slightly offshore. The source of energy for all hurricanes is the elevated temperatures of the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the associated warm surface temperatures of the Gulf Stream flowing northwards along the eastern seaboard. At particular risk are the most vulnerable, low-income communities located in many public housing projects located on low-lying land near to the coast. The New York-New Jersey Harbor is vulnerable to storm surges that threaten to inundate the region, put in danger large numbers of the metropolitan area's residents, devastate much critical infrastructure and damage some of its most important economic assets. Within the barrier system lies crucial infrastructure such as the seaports and maritime facilities ground level and underground transportation terminals three major international airports subway and roadway tunnels hospitals communication centers the industrial complex of northern New Jersey as well as the millions of residents at risk in New York City and coastal New Jersey north of Sandy Hook. The group is chaired by Malcolm Bowman, a professor of physical oceanography at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The proposal was developed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy by the Metropolitan NY-NJ-LI Storm Surge Working Group (SSWG), composed of prominent entrepreneurs, civic leaders, social scientists, oceanographers, marine ecologists, meteorologists, engineers, architects, economists, attorneys and media experts. Video animation of Verrazano Barrier's more open design (0.30). Video animation of originally proposed Outer Harbor Barrier in operation (4:11). The barrier system could also be extended eastward, filling in the gaps between barrier islands, to protect the various communities lining the south shore of Long Island. Thus a storm-surge barrier system combined with coastline adjustments would form a two-tiered strategy to protect the region. To address the problem of sea level rise, smaller scale projects to increase seawall heights or otherwise raise vulnerable coastlines would be necessary. The plan was ultimately abandoned in 2020. Through extensive use of floodgates, both barriers would have largely open cross-sections during normal conditions to minimize environmental impacts on the estuary and port operations. The proposed system would consist of one barrier located across the mouth of Lower New York Bay between Sandy Hook (N.J.) and Rockaway (N.Y.) and a second on the upper East River to provide a ring of protection to most of the bi-state region. The New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier was a proposed barrier and floodgate system to protect the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary from storm surges. Map of proposed storm surge barrier locations around New York Harbor. Proposed barrier/floodgate system to protect New York metro area
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