The Science behind Superstorm Sandy s Crippling Storm Surge
Friday, November 2, 2012 - 14:50
in Earth & Climate
GOWANUS, BROOKLYN--Superstorm Sandy's tidal surge halted a little more than a block from my home, mirroring almost precisely the border of two different nearby flood zones on New York City's evacuation map . Homes, stores and warehouses closer to the Gowanus Canal at the westernmost end of Long Island--one of the most polluted sites in the U.S. as a result of an industrial legacy paired with sewage overflows in heavy rains, qualifying its bottom muck, waters and adjacent land for Superfund designation--saw basements and lower floors turned into stinking pools. The foul waters remained trapped by sandbags and other would-be antiflood precautions even the day after. [More]