4 ms·

It'll probably happen next year and the year after that too.

madaxe_again 3y ago
Every year until the underwriters refuse to underwrite - as is already happening on the gulf coast. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
- bobthepanda 3y ago
  At least in New York the geology permits a seawall, if they get their shit together and build it.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    Does a sea wall help with too much rain at once?
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - discreteevent 3y ago
      I don't know about NYC but in general a sea wall could hold back a high tide. A lot of coastal cities flood when there is high rainfall coinciding with a high tide. When the tide is low the rain just drains into the river and out to sea.
      - lxgr 3y ago
        In this case though, as far as I can tell it really was mostly a lot of rain at once, i.e. too much for sewers to drain to the sea to prevent flooding. I don't think a sea wall could improve this; only better storm drains could. I think this was different for Hurricane Sandy, where a storm tide was actually pushing in water from the sea/rivers, which is the scenario where a sea wall would help. And I suppose often it's a bit of both – storm drains stop working once the sea level is too high.
    - nostrademons 3y ago
      No, but better drainage would. In my sister's ex-subdivision in Houston, the streets were designed to flood, channeling any water away from property and into bayous, rivers, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. It worked as designed over several tropical storms. The streets were a mess but everybody's home, driveway, and property stayed dry. NYC needs a similar effort - change the streets and subways to channel water away from property and into the harbor, while providing means to harden the underground parts that can't get wet. It will be crazy expensive, but it's an engineering & construction problem, not a geographic or climate one.
      - bobthepanda 3y ago
        Dumping water into the harbor only really works if it won't just come right back out onto the land. Most of the flooded areas are at sea level.
        nostrademons 3y ago
        Hence the seawall idea.
      - telotortium 3y ago
        Though as you may be aware, the 3rd and 5th wards are not so well protected. Low-lying parts of highways are often flooded out, especially during hurricanes.
    - bobthepanda 3y ago
      It does if you can drain into the body of water you are blocking with the seawall.
  - Wowfunhappy 3y ago
    I'm pretty confident it will happen, there's too much real-estate money to not do it.
    - bobthepanda 3y ago
      The current project has been beset by problems with this as well. Anywhere with a seawall will have lower flooding inside but more flooding outside. When it was originally proposed at the Narrows, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens were not pleased.

Every year until the underwriters refuse to underwrite - as is already happening on the gulf coast. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

bobthepanda 3y ago
At least in New York the geology permits a seawall, if they get their shit together and build it.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  Does a sea wall help with too much rain at once?
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - discreteevent 3y ago
    I don't know about NYC but in general a sea wall could hold back a high tide. A lot of coastal cities flood when there is high rainfall coinciding with a high tide. When the tide is low the rain just drains into the river and out to sea.
    - lxgr 3y ago
      In this case though, as far as I can tell it really was mostly a lot of rain at once, i.e. too much for sewers to drain to the sea to prevent flooding. I don't think a sea wall could improve this; only better storm drains could. I think this was different for Hurricane Sandy, where a storm tide was actually pushing in water from the sea/rivers, which is the scenario where a sea wall would help. And I suppose often it's a bit of both – storm drains stop working once the sea level is too high.
  - nostrademons 3y ago
    No, but better drainage would. In my sister's ex-subdivision in Houston, the streets were designed to flood, channeling any water away from property and into bayous, rivers, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. It worked as designed over several tropical storms. The streets were a mess but everybody's home, driveway, and property stayed dry. NYC needs a similar effort - change the streets and subways to channel water away from property and into the harbor, while providing means to harden the underground parts that can't get wet. It will be crazy expensive, but it's an engineering & construction problem, not a geographic or climate one.
    - bobthepanda 3y ago
      Dumping water into the harbor only really works if it won't just come right back out onto the land. Most of the flooded areas are at sea level.
      - nostrademons 3y ago
        Hence the seawall idea.
    - telotortium 3y ago
      Though as you may be aware, the 3rd and 5th wards are not so well protected. Low-lying parts of highways are often flooded out, especially during hurricanes.
  - bobthepanda 3y ago
    It does if you can drain into the body of water you are blocking with the seawall.
- Wowfunhappy 3y ago
  I'm pretty confident it will happen, there's too much real-estate money to not do it.
  - bobthepanda 3y ago
    The current project has been beset by problems with this as well. Anywhere with a seawall will have lower flooding inside but more flooding outside. When it was originally proposed at the Narrows, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens were not pleased.