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NYer here also. For the past 10-12 years or so, yes, this has been happening more and more. This kind of thing was not happening 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago, at

by Ologn 3y ago

NYer here also. For the past 10-12 years or so, yes, this has been happening more and more. This kind of thing was not happening 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago, at this level any how. You can say now "these floods happen every year", but this used to not be the case. This year New York was covered by smoke due to Canadian forest fires. I can't remember that ever happening in the past half century. I'm sure in a few years someone will these "this happens every year".

grvdrm 3y ago
You’re not wrong and the trend is toward more of these torrential-to-flood events. The story is simple: the infrastructure we have doesn’t handle multiple inches of rain in a very short period of time.
- wizerdrobe 3y ago
  Would that rain have previously had somewhere to run off to, i.e. is over-development plus a lack of infrastructure projects to blame here? Or was the city already heavily developed like this and the storm just that much worse? I’m used to Charleston, SC flooding over the years and the worst spots always neatly lined up with the historical maps, specially the areas of the peninsula that were filled in with trash and covered with dirt. Areas that would have otherwise been low-lying wetlands were the streets you could kayak through.
  - grvdrm 3y ago
    As others pointed out, generalizing across NYC is quite hard. Some areas - particularly in Brooklyn and Queens - are probably more developed than they used to be. What I was pointing to this something like this: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heavy-precipitation https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indica... From that article: > Heavy precipitation does not necessarily mean the total amount of precipitation at a location has increased—just that precipitation is occurring in more intense events. However, changes in the intensity of precipitation, when combined with changes in the interval between precipitation events, can also lead to changes in overall precipitation totals. In other words, 6 inches of rain fell at JFK over 4 days, that might be manageable for the infrastructure. Not so much if it happens in one day, which is what this articles speaks to.
shin_lao 3y ago
The flooding are also getting worse because the infrastructure isn't getting any better. Smokes were due to criminal behavior.
- anigbrowl 3y ago
  Smokes were due to criminal behavior. Doubtful. https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/police-arrest-man-suspected-of-starting-wildfires-near-chibougamau https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/police-arrest-man-su... 'Chibougamau Mayor Manon Cyr says she was relieved when she learned of Paré’s arrest. In an interview Friday, the mayor said the fires that Paré is accused of starting were unrelated to the two massive wildfires that forced the evacuation of the town in June. “We’ll see what’s said in court on this,” Cyr said. “But the big fires that caused the evacuation were caused by lightning.”'

by Ologn 3y ago

grvdrm 3y ago

You’re not wrong and the trend is toward more of these torrential-to-flood events. The story is simple: the infrastructure we have doesn’t handle multiple inches of rain in a very short period of time.

wizerdrobe 3y ago
Would that rain have previously had somewhere to run off to, i.e. is over-development plus a lack of infrastructure projects to blame here? Or was the city already heavily developed like this and the storm just that much worse? I’m used to Charleston, SC flooding over the years and the worst spots always neatly lined up with the historical maps, specially the areas of the peninsula that were filled in with trash and covered with dirt. Areas that would have otherwise been low-lying wetlands were the streets you could kayak through.
- grvdrm 3y ago
  As others pointed out, generalizing across NYC is quite hard. Some areas - particularly in Brooklyn and Queens - are probably more developed than they used to be. What I was pointing to this something like this: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heavy-precipitation https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indica... From that article: > Heavy precipitation does not necessarily mean the total amount of precipitation at a location has increased—just that precipitation is occurring in more intense events. However, changes in the intensity of precipitation, when combined with changes in the interval between precipitation events, can also lead to changes in overall precipitation totals. In other words, 6 inches of rain fell at JFK over 4 days, that might be manageable for the infrastructure. Not so much if it happens in one day, which is what this articles speaks to.

shin_lao 3y ago

The flooding are also getting worse because the infrastructure isn't getting any better. Smokes were due to criminal behavior.

anigbrowl 3y ago
Smokes were due to criminal behavior. Doubtful. https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/police-arrest-man-suspected-of-starting-wildfires-near-chibougamau https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/police-arrest-man-su... 'Chibougamau Mayor Manon Cyr says she was relieved when she learned of Paré’s arrest. In an interview Friday, the mayor said the fires that Paré is accused of starting were unrelated to the two massive wildfires that forced the evacuation of the town in June. “We’ll see what’s said in court on this,” Cyr said. “But the big fires that caused the evacuation were caused by lightning.”'