New York Is Going to Flood. Here’s What the City Can Do to Survive

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By John Surico and Nick Underwood, The New York Times. 

Excerpt: The waters surrounding New York allowed it to grow into an economic powerhouse. But what has been a blessing is increasingly a threat, as flooding becomes one of the city’s greatest challenges. Projections that model future flooding in the city show that it will only get worse. By 2080, many areas will face an increased risk of tidal flooding because of rising sea levels. At the same time, more neighborhoods will become vulnerable to extreme rainfall. And wide swaths of the city face increasing peril in the event of storm surge from a hurricane. By 2080, nearly 30 percent of the city’s land mass could be at risk of significant flooding. Some 1.4 million New Yorkers currently live in these areas — 17 percent of the city’s population. New York’s adaptation is a matter of survival. Climate experts have recommended several strategies. The city could increase its ability to absorb water, converting wide areas of asphalt and concrete to green space. It could fortify by building barriers along its shores, possibly even a gate around the harbor. Or it could retreat, relocating people out of the most hazardous regions. The city will most likely have to embrace all three approaches in some form.... 

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