For several years, New York City has been facing problems with rising water levels. Bad weather or global warming, climatic disasters threaten New York. To remedy this problem, the city that never sleeps recently launched a huge project to raise its coastline and thus avoid flooding.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit New York, killing at least 41 people. Nearly 17% of New York’s surface area was submerged. The natural disaster highlighted the city’s problems with rising waters and low coastlines. A problem that is getting worse since, in addition to natural disasters like hurricanes and heavy rains, water levels continue to rise due to global warming.
🌧 In the United States, New York suffered significant flooding after 220 mm of rain fell, a record total in the city! 🇺🇸 (via https://t.co/v61BbNrKRB) pic.twitter.com/ukSgurnkXp
— Météo Express (@MeteoExpress) September 30, 2023
Slowly but surely, the water is rising near the New York coast
Since 1950, water has already gained 20 centimeters along the New York coast. The Manhattan district is the most exposed to rising water levels. According to a report from the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), sea level rise by 2050 is expected to be 25 to 35 cm for the American East Coast and therefore for New York.
In the space of a century, water along New York’s coast could rise by half a meter. A forecast that overwhelms many coastal areas of the city that never sleeps. The site climatecentral allows you to better visualize the consequences of rising water levels, in particular thanks to a map where the water has risen by one meter with the places found submerged in red.
Construction solutions in New York
To solve all the problems of rising water levels. New York City wants to raise East River Park and rebuild it 10 feet higher. It will also be protected by an anti-flood wall which extends for nearly 4 km. A titanic project which must be completed in 2026. The work, managed by ESCR (East Side Coastal Resiliency), represents a total cost of 20 billion dollars.
The East Side Coastal Resiliency project has received the Envision Gold Award @ISIenvision for its “cohesive & comprehensive response to climate resiliency goals, protecting the community while strengthening public space, and developing a vigorous community engagement program.” pic.twitter.com/0qr7TGPLDL
— One Architecture & Urbanism (@one_arch_urb) August 24, 2022
Work has also begun in Manhattan to build a wall and dikes against flooding. The southeast sector of the island, Manhattan, is the most vulnerable to the risk of rising waters. This project costs no less than 1.45 billion dollars.
Back to basics for New York
In addition to building all these protections against the risk of flooding, New York City also plans to green its coasts. Several local plants and ponds will be installed along the coastal coasts of New York, allowing water to be absorbed.
These projects are inspired in particular by those which come from the Netherlands but also from the Manhattan district, 400 years ago. At the time, the coasts of the future business district were made up of bushes, forests, all in the middle of wetlands. A real natural barrier against flooding.
A rise in water levels accentuated by the subsidence of New York
Every year, New York sinks by an average of 1 to 2 millimeters. An alarming observation of a published study in the scientific journal Earth’s Future. The collapse of the Big Apple is due to all the skyscrapers. In total, 764 million tons of infrastructure weigh on the American megalopolis.
The study also reveals that the sinking of New York increases the risk of flooding while at the same time, sea levels continue to rise. According to the authors of this report, the rise in water levels is “three to four times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America”. A problem that continues to get worse because of global warming.
2024-01-08 17:13:54
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