Cities

IMAGE: Note: Average seasonal cycle removed from monthly mean sea level Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Graphic: Jan Diehm/The Guardian

theguardian.com - March 20th 2017 - Oliver Milman

The Irish Pub near Atlantic City’s famed boardwalk doesn’t have any locks on the doors as it is open 24 hours a day. So when Hurricane Sandy crunched into what was once known as the Las Vegas of the east coast in 2012, some improvisation was needed.

Regular drinkers helped slot a cork board through the frame of the door, wedging it shut and keeping out the surging seawater.

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Image: In Pelham Bay in the Bronx, an ancient salt marsh has provided a unique laboratory to study historic sea levels and perhaps see what lies ahead. Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times

nytimes.com - January 19th 2017 - Marc Santora

Surrounded by landmarks of modernity like Co-op City in the Bronx, a sliver of New York’s ancient past remains relatively untouched.

It is one of the city’s last salt marshes, a coastal ecosystem dominated by dense and sturdy stands of plants and grasses that has been trapping and binding sediments from the flow of the tides for thousands of years.

The sediment there tells a story of the past and, according to a new study, offers a dire warning about the future that corresponds with similar research conducted around the world.

sciencedaily.com - March 5, 2015

Source:  Texas A&M University

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Changing global patterns of urban exposure to flood and drought hazards

Summary:  A heads-up to New York, Baltimore, Houston and Miami: a new study suggests that these metropolitan areas and others will increase their exposure to floods even in the absence of climate change.  Their work is published in Global Environmental Change. . . .

. . . "Through land change, bank protection, channelization, and other means, urbanization can also alter the geomorphology of river channels and floodplains, which in turn may contribute to increased risk of flooding."

"Our findings suggest that future urban expansion in flood and drought prone zones will at least be as important as population growth and economic development in increasing their exposure," the researchers add.

"With climatic changes, this exposure is only expected to increase in the future. Thus, proper planning and financing in fast growing cities today will be critical in mitigating future losses due to floods and droughts."

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Image: Avenue C and 14th Street during Hurricane Sandy. Photo credit: Matthew Kraus

huffingtonpost.com - October 28th 2014 - Frances Beinecke

Two years ago this week, Hurricane Sandy came barreling up the East Coast, killing 117 Americans and damaging hundreds of thousands of homes along the way. Here in my hometown of New York, it delivered an 11-foot storm surge and a reminder that climate change wasn't just a challenge for the future. On this anniversary, we honor those who lost their lives to the storm.

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