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Hurricane Sandy Follow-up and Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Analysis

The objective of this project is to assess the impacts of October 2012's Hurricane Sandy, (and to a lesser extent, Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and the Halloween Nor'easter in 2011) on the transportation assets within the greater NY-NJ-CT metropolitan region, assess the vulnerability of those assets to the impacts of extreme weather events and the possible future impacts of climate change, and identify adaptation strategies to increase the resilience of the transportation system. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2016.

Background

Just as hurricane season was winding down in the fall of 2012, Hurricane Sandy was winding up-charging up the Atlantic Coast, causing havoc for communities along its way. The record-setting storm surge pummeled shoreline communities large and small from New Jersey to New York and Connecticut-destroying homes and businesses and leaving millions without power. Sandy also levied a heavy toll on the region’s transportation system-knocking out bridges, flooding tunnels, submerging or washing out roads and rail, and closing airports. For a few days, the nation’s largest economic hub ground to a halt, and nearly a year later the rebuilding continues.

Although Hurricane Sandy was unlike any storm in recorded history we can be assured that weather related disasters will continue to threaten the region. With climate change, it is likely that these events will increase in both severity and frequency, intensifying the impacts of more routine weather and heightening the devastation wrought by extreme storms.

In Fall 2013, FHWA launched an initiative to enhance the tri-state region’s resiliency to climate change and extreme weather in the longer-term, while informing the ongoing Hurricane Sandy recovery process. Building from a FHWA-sponsored New Jersey vulnerability assessment pilot, performed in 2011, FHWA is collaborating with state DOT and MPO partners in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York to survey the damage and disruption wrought by Hurricane Sandy on the region’s transportation systems, along with that of Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and Winter Storm Alfred (the Halloween Nor’easter of 2011).

The project partnership will leverage the lessons learned from these events, as well as future climate projections, to develop feasible, cost-effective strategies to reduce and manage extreme weather vulnerabilities amid the uncertainties of a changing climate. A selection of ten regionally significant transportation facilities-ranging from roads, to bridges, tunnels, rail, and port-has been chosen by the region’s transportation agencies for a more detailed, engineering-based assessment. Results from the engineering assessments will inform a multimodal transportation vulnerability and risk assessment for the region. In addition, the project partnership will develop strategies for bolstering transportation resiliency for a selection of critical subareas.

Contacts

Journalists with questions about this project should call FHWA's Office of Public Affairs at 202-366-0660.