How Ida avoided NYC flood defenses

“The problem is, we see this problem with rapid climate change, and the change is not just going away,” he says. Lauren McPhillips, a hydrologist at Penn State University who specializes in urban sprawl.

New York City has been seriously considering preparations for a flood, McPhillips said. For many years, the city installed high-quality buildings, such as green roofs and rain gardens, and repaired pumps and drainage pipes. This change grew even bigger after Sandy.

“We learned a lot from Sandy,” said New York ambassador Kathy Hochul press conference in the morning after the storm. “We also strengthened our courage; Our beaches are better than they used to be. But where we are at risk is on our roads. “

Sand comes to the forefront of discussions about floods in New York City. But the gap between the 2012 hurricane season and Ida reflects the floods that have threatened the city since climate change. Sandy brought a violent storm, as the sea rushed into the city. Ida lost inches of water all over the city in a short period of time – a problem that maritime barriers and other side protection cannot be solved.

Although New York City and other coastal areas are at risk of rising sea levels, each urban area is likely to experience what is called flooding, which is caused by rainfall. “The way we did New York City has created a flood problem,” he said Timon McPhearson, a researcher on urban coping at New School and a member of New York City Group on Climate Change.

Layers of concrete like water cause water to run off rather than sink to the ground, as is often the case with wetlands or forests. And if enough water flows together, the consequences can be fatal.

With the help of researchers like McPhearson, New York City has put in place measures to protect itself from flooding. Looking forward storm water system released in May 2021 also included an assessment of the city’s risk of floods and a review of solutions based on community considerations, such as educating city councils on flood risk, engineering techniques such as green roofs and rainforests.

And the city’s Department of Homeland Security is considering plans for areas that have been severely affected by the cyclone. The program of Cloudburst Resiliency learning, completed in 2018, has explored ways to deal with heavy rainfall. The plan for piloting the Queens flooded area also includes green infrastructure as park routes, as well as a basketball court that is designed for water during floods.

But to do this or some other form of rainwater harvesting costs a lot of money, and some require ten years to build an engineer. “We need to redesign the city to address this issue,” McPhearson said. And he expects it to be worth it — perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars. In some cases, he says, research has already shown how it can protect the city from floods, but combining funding and seeking political action is difficult.