Must New York City Have Its Own Katrina?

Abstract

The New York metropolitan region will inevitably be exposed to more severe coastal flooding as sea level rises and storms may become more frequent and severe with global warming. The inner city can be protected by placing three storm surge barriers at choke points in the waterways surrounding the city. This has been demonstrated with a coupled meteorological-hydrodynamic mathematical model of the Eastern seaboard. However, New York City is presently planning to be flooded, not to prevent being flooded. If we are not to repeat the process that failed New Orleans, engineering leadership is needed now to take the next step of designing the barriers and establishing their technical feasibility.