Tropical Storm Exposes the Problems of the Big Apple

The arrival of Hurricane Irene has disclosed the vulnerabilities of New York City, especially of the low-lying areas, where most of the city-run buildings operate.

The truth is that, although hurricanes are a frequent event in the Caribbean and North America, the American East Coast, where most of the cities, airports and important means of transport in the country are concentrated, is much less familiarized with and prepared to confront these types of phenomena.

“A hurricane of that size is capable of driving large volumes of water into a funnel-shaped space like New York harbor,” said Radley Horton, a climate scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University. He said the city was especially vulnerable because of the placement in low-lying areas of the utility and other equipment that make New York City run. And if they are interrupted, it could be disastrous and chaotic.

As to housing, a serious problem is that people do not have resistant features capable of resisting gale-force winds, like strong window glass and blinds — elements that people in Florida, a region well-adapted to this type of phenomena, do have. That is why insurers fear claims and now alert their customers to protect their houses.

The New York City Office of Emergency Management indicated that the places in danger are Manhattan, Long Island, Rhode Island, Cape Cod and some zones around Boston.

Precedents increase fear: In 1821, a hurricane raised tides almost 13 feet in one hour and flooded the whole of Manhattan. In 1938, a Category 3 storm devastated Long Island. Authorities are also concerned to protect oil refineries in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.