Tuesday, October 30, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 9
Tuesday marks exactly 12 years since Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New York on Oct. 29, 2012.
Over the course of 48 hours, the intense wind and rain devastated many communities and left tens of thousands of homes damaged.
It also caused billions of dollars of damage as coastal communities were ravaged and flooding, fires and tremendous loss followed. The storm also showed us just how vulnerable we are.
There has been major rebuilding in the 12 years since Sandy, including a hurricane mitigation project on Staten Island.
The breakwaters are part of a strategy to reduce risk from hurricanes after Superstorm Sandy pummeled the region in 2012 and killed 23 people in Staten Island, alone.
Other parts of the city have also been developing coastal defenses.
In Manhattan, a stretch of parkland along the East River is being elevated to serve as a barrier against future storm surges. Floodwalls are planned as part of a line of protections that will eventually form a “U” around Manhattan’s southern tip. On the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, boardwalks destroyed in the storm have been rebuilt as fortified flood barriers.
Climate experts warn that although breakwaters are a useful tool to deal with intensifying storms, they’ll only help for so long as seas continue to rise.
Source: ABC7 News
