Flood Damage and Vulnerability Assessment for Hurricane Sandy in New York City

Flood Damage and Vulnerability Assessment for Hurricane Sandy in New York City PDF Author: Fang Zhang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 91

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Book Description
Abstract: Recently, flood damage raises a great concern due to the increasing weather extremes and fast urbanization speed. However, due to limited damage data and crude methodology in this field, few flood damage studies could provide accurate results for flood management. To evaluate current methods of flood damage assessment and provide effective information for flood planning, this study investigate and evaluate the damage assessment method e.g. loss functions which are widely used in damage studies, and study the social vulnerability of local residents as auxiliary information to explain the total flood damage of Hurricane Sandy in New York City. Firstly, two types of loss functions are applied to the flood damage on buildings and subways. The estimates thus obtained is then, compared with the real flood loss report from FEMA. Secondly, as the current benchmark and terminology of flood are based on 1/100 year flood event, current flood protection strategies based on such 1/100 year criteria is facing increasing challenges due to the raising intensity or frequency of floods today. Therefore, a comparison between Sandy's floodplain and FEMA-produced 1/100 year floodplain is made to improve the awareness and understanding of Sandy's impact as well as current flood planning. With the consideration of the crude methodologies and limited data of damage study, the third task is to generate a social vulnerability (SoVI) map to account for social and economic damages which are hard to be estimated through current loss functions. The study is ended with several conclusions: 1), those loss functions which only use inundation depth cannot accurately estimate the flood damage in each county. Wind speed could be another indispensable indicator expressing the flood hazard. The damage estimate of subways should include the damage of subway station. In addition, improving the estimates of loss functions for different kinds of objects or property need further adjustments with their attributes, such as quality, age and resistance to the flood; 2) Comparing Sandy's floodplain with 1/100 year flood risk map, a significant difference exists. Apparently, the larger area and buildings within Sandy's inundated area will result in much severer damage. Thus, to improve the efficiency of flood mitigation and preparedness, continuously update the flood map in government based on the flood risk and protection cost is needed; and 3) the vulnerability map could provide auxiliary information to explain the indirect and intangible flood damage resulted from social inequality. Integrating the social vulnerability index into damage assessment to provide more comprehensive damage information would be a promising direction in future studies.

Flood Damage and Vulnerability Assessment for Hurricane Sandy in New York City

Flood Damage and Vulnerability Assessment for Hurricane Sandy in New York City PDF Author: Fang Zhang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 91

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Book Description
Abstract: Recently, flood damage raises a great concern due to the increasing weather extremes and fast urbanization speed. However, due to limited damage data and crude methodology in this field, few flood damage studies could provide accurate results for flood management. To evaluate current methods of flood damage assessment and provide effective information for flood planning, this study investigate and evaluate the damage assessment method e.g. loss functions which are widely used in damage studies, and study the social vulnerability of local residents as auxiliary information to explain the total flood damage of Hurricane Sandy in New York City. Firstly, two types of loss functions are applied to the flood damage on buildings and subways. The estimates thus obtained is then, compared with the real flood loss report from FEMA. Secondly, as the current benchmark and terminology of flood are based on 1/100 year flood event, current flood protection strategies based on such 1/100 year criteria is facing increasing challenges due to the raising intensity or frequency of floods today. Therefore, a comparison between Sandy's floodplain and FEMA-produced 1/100 year floodplain is made to improve the awareness and understanding of Sandy's impact as well as current flood planning. With the consideration of the crude methodologies and limited data of damage study, the third task is to generate a social vulnerability (SoVI) map to account for social and economic damages which are hard to be estimated through current loss functions. The study is ended with several conclusions: 1), those loss functions which only use inundation depth cannot accurately estimate the flood damage in each county. Wind speed could be another indispensable indicator expressing the flood hazard. The damage estimate of subways should include the damage of subway station. In addition, improving the estimates of loss functions for different kinds of objects or property need further adjustments with their attributes, such as quality, age and resistance to the flood; 2) Comparing Sandy's floodplain with 1/100 year flood risk map, a significant difference exists. Apparently, the larger area and buildings within Sandy's inundated area will result in much severer damage. Thus, to improve the efficiency of flood mitigation and preparedness, continuously update the flood map in government based on the flood risk and protection cost is needed; and 3) the vulnerability map could provide auxiliary information to explain the indirect and intangible flood damage resulted from social inequality. Integrating the social vulnerability index into damage assessment to provide more comprehensive damage information would be a promising direction in future studies.

Taking Chances

Taking Chances PDF Author: Karen M. O'Neill
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813573785
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Humanity is deeply committed to living along the world’s shores, but a catastrophic storm like Sandy—which took hundreds of lives and caused many billions of dollars in damages—shines a bright light at how costly and vulnerable life on a shoreline can be. Taking Chances offers a wide-ranging exploration of the diverse challenges of Sandy and asks if this massive event will really change how coastal living and development is managed. Bringing together leading researchers—including biologists, urban planners, utilities experts, and climatologists, among others—Taking Chances illuminates reactions to the dangers revealed by Sandy. Focusing on New Jersey, New York, and other hard-hit areas, the contributors explore whether Hurricane Sandy has indeed transformed our perceptions of coastal hazards, if we have made radically new plans in response to Sandy, and what we think should be done over the long run to improve coastal resilience. Surprisingly, one essay notes that while a large majority of New Jerseyans identified Sandy with climate change and favored carefully assessing the likelihood of damage from future storms before rebuilding the Shore, their political leaders quickly poured millions into reconstruction. Indeed, much here is disquieting. One contributor points out that investors scared off from further investments on the shore are quickly replaced by new investors, sustaining or increasing the overall human exposure to risk. Likewise, a study of the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn shows that, even after Sandy swamped the area with toxic flood waters, plans to convert abandoned industrial lots around the canal into high-density condominiums went on undeterred. By contrast, utilities, emergency officials, and others who routinely make long-term plans have changed operations in response to the storm, and provide examples of adaptation in the face of climate change. Will Sandy be a tipping point in coastal policy debates—or simply dismissed as a once-in-a-century anomaly? This thought-provoking collection of essays in Taking Chances makes an important contribution to this debate.

Safety, Reliability, Risk and Life-Cycle Performance of Structures and Infrastructures

Safety, Reliability, Risk and Life-Cycle Performance of Structures and Infrastructures PDF Author: George Deodatis
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1315884887
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 1112

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Book Description
Safety, Reliability, Risk and Life-Cycle Performance of Structures and Infrastructures contains the plenary lectures and papers presented at the 11th International Conference on STRUCTURAL SAFETY AND RELIABILITY (ICOSSAR2013, New York, NY, USA, 16-20 June 2013), and covers major aspects of safety, reliability, risk and life-cycle performance of str

Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States

Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030948961X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 101

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Book Description
Flooding is the natural hazard with the greatest economic and social impact in the United States, and these impacts are becoming more severe over time. Catastrophic flooding from recent hurricanes, including Superstorm Sandy in New York (2012) and Hurricane Harvey in Houston (2017), caused billions of dollars in property damage, adversely affected millions of people, and damaged the economic well-being of major metropolitan areas. Flooding takes a heavy toll even in years without a named storm or event. Major freshwater flood events from 2004 to 2014 cost an average of $9 billion in direct damage and 71 lives annually. These figures do not include the cumulative costs of frequent, small floods, which can be similar to those of infrequent extreme floods. Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States contributes to existing knowledge by examining real-world examples in specific metropolitan areas. This report identifies commonalities and variances among the case study metropolitan areas in terms of causes, adverse impacts, unexpected problems in recovery, or effective mitigation strategies, as well as key themes of urban flooding. It also relates, as appropriate, causes and actions of urban flooding to existing federal resources or policies.

Analysis of Storm-tide Impacts from Hurricane Sandy in New York

Analysis of Storm-tide Impacts from Hurricane Sandy in New York PDF Author: Christopher E. Schubert
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781411339248
Category : Hurricane Sandy, 2012
Languages : en
Pages : 75

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Book Description


Hurricane Sandy Fema After-Action Report

Hurricane Sandy Fema After-Action Report PDF Author: United States. Department of Homeland Security
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781492831570
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Book Description
Sandy, the second-largest Atlantic storm on record, affected the East Coast from Florida to Maine, as well as states as far inland as West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. The storm made landfall in southern New Jersey on October 29, 2012, battering the densely populated New York and New Jersey region with heavy rains, strong winds, and record storm surges. The storm's effects were extensive, leaving more than 8.5 million customers without power, causing widespread flooding throughout the region, and contributing to acute fuel shortages in parts of New York and New Jersey. The storm damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, caused tens of billions of dollars in damages, and killed at least 162 people in the United States. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinated a large-scale Federal response that contributed to the integrated, national effort to support affected states and communities. In the days before Sandy's landfall, FEMA worked closely with Whole Community partners— including all levels of government, private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations, communities, and individuals—to prepare for the storm and anticipate survivor needs. The Agency pre-positioned commodities and assets, activated response centers, and deployed over 900 personnel ahead of Sandy's landfall. In the initial response to the storm, the Agency coordinated with its partners to provide Federal resources and to develop innovative solutions to address power restoration, transportation, fuel distribution, and housing needs. As recovery efforts began, FEMA continued to work with its partners to assist survivors and their communities. The Agency executed one of the largest deployments of personnel in its history, delivered over $1.2 billion in housing assistance to more than 174,000 survivors, and obligated over $800 million for debris removal and infrastructure restoration. Despite these successes, the response to Sandy also revealed notable challenges in how FEMA coordinates with its Federal partners, supports state and local officials and disaster survivors, integrates with the Whole Community, and prepares and deploys its workforce. Difficulties with issuing timely mission assignments, the implementation of incident management structures, and meeting survivor needs early in the response phase are examples of challenges that emerged during Sandy. Addressing these and other issues is a near-term priority for FEMA and its partners in order to improve response and recovery operations in future disasters. Ultimately, the Sandy experience demonstrated significant progress achieved in recent years, but also confirmed that larger-scale incidents will stress the Agency's capacity for effective response and recovery. This report was written following response and initial recovery efforts to Hurricane Sandy. Any recommendations or findings that result from other interagency Sandy-related efforts will continue to be reviewed. At the direction of FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, the Agency established the Sandy Analysis Team to review all aspects of the Agency's preparations for, immediate response to, and initial recovery from the storm. This report contains the findings of that review. While FEMA coordinates disaster response and recovery efforts across the Federal Government and works closely with non-Federal Whole Community partners, this report focuses on identified strengths and areas for improvement within FEMA. The analyses detailed in the report concentrate on FEMA activities in New York and New Jersey, where the scale and severity of Sandy's impacts most stressed the Agency's capabilities. By examining the events in these states, the Agency can identify where and how it must improve.

Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Hazards

Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Hazards PDF Author: Sven Fuchs
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107154898
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
A comprehensive overview of the concepts of vulnerability and resilience for natural hazards research for both physical and social scientists.

Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York

Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York PDF Author: Mitigation Assessment Team (United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Building failures
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the East Coast of the United States. Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season and the third-costliest hurricane in United States history. Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Brigantine, NJ, as a 1,000-mile-wide post-tropical cyclone. It had an estimated sustained wind speed of 80 miles per hour and a minimum pressure of 945 millibars. Although the wind speed was on the lower end of a Category 1 hurricane, the pressure was typical of a Category 3 hurricane. Hurricane Sandy approached the East Coast at a perpendicular angle and coincided with a spring high tide that was higher than normal because of a full moon. All of these factors combined to generate a massive surge that caused flooding and wind damage in 24 states across the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States. New Jersey and New York were the most severely damaged. Nearly 2 million energy users lost power, contributing to the widespread impact of the storm. Total economic losses across the United States from Hurricane Sandy are estimated to be $50 billion. In response to Hurricane Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed a Mitigation Assessment Team (MAT) to evaluate damage from the hurricane, document observations, and based on these, offer conclusions and recommendations on the performance of buildings and other structures affected by flood and wind forces. The MAT included FEMA Headquarters and Regional Office engineers, representatives from other Federal agencies, local government officials, academia, and experts from the design and construction industry. The conclusions and recommendations in this report are intended to provide decision makers, designers, contractors, planners, code officials, industry groups, government officials, academia, homeowners, and business owners and operators with information and technical guidance that can be used to reduce future hurricane damage.

Identifying Socially Sensitive Populations Susceptible to New York City’s Coastal and Pluvial Flooding

Identifying Socially Sensitive Populations Susceptible to New York City’s Coastal and Pluvial Flooding PDF Author: Gowri A. Anand
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This paper provides an approach to quantifying coastal and pluvial flooding for New York City using the exposure-sensitivity-adaptive capacity theoretical framework. Vulnerabilities for different flood scenarios are calculated and discussed in order to show nuance in the flooding that could be experienced in NYC.

Hydro-Environmental Analysis

Hydro-Environmental Analysis PDF Author: James L. Martin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1138000868
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 5742

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Book Description
Focusing on fundamental principles, Hydro-Environmental Analysis: Freshwater Environments presents in-depth information about freshwater environments and how they are influenced by regulation. It provides a holistic approach, exploring the factors that impact water quality and quantity, and the regulations, policy and management methods that are necessary to maintain this vital resource. It offers a historical viewpoint as well as an overview and foundation of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics affecting the management of freshwater environments. The book concentrates on broad and general concepts, providing an interdisciplinary foundation. The author covers the methods of measurement and classification; chemical, physical, and biological characteristics; indicators of ecological health; and management and restoration. He also considers common indicators of environmental health; characteristics and operations of regulatory control structures; applicable laws and regulations; and restoration methods. The text delves into rivers and streams in the first half and lakes and reservoirs in the second half. Each section centers on the characteristics of those systems and methods of classification, and then moves on to discuss the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of each. In the section on lakes and reservoirs, it examines the characteristics and operations of regulatory structures, and presents the methods commonly used to assess the environmental health or integrity of these water bodies. It also introduces considerations for restoration, and presents two unique aquatic environments: wetlands and reservoir tailwaters. Written from an engineering perspective, the book is an ideal introduction to the aquatic and limnological sciences for students of environmental science, as well as students of environmental engineering. It also serves as a reference for engineers and scientists involved in the management, regulation, or restoration of freshwater environments.