Hurricane Sandy And The Subway Case Study
Hurricane Sandy and the Subway
Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic storm ever and second most costly storm in United States History (Preliminary estimates of losses due to damage and business interruption are estimated at $65.5 billion), made it painfully clear exactly how fragile a city composed mostly of low-lying islands can be. At the beginning of the storm, Mayor Bloomberg announced that New York City public schools would be closed Tuesday, October 30 and Wednesday, October 31, however they actually remained closed until November 2. The New York Stock Exchange was also closed for a consecutive two days, the first time ever in US history as well. When the storm hit the East River overflowed its banks, flooding large sections of Lower …show more content…
And with millions dependent on New York City's subways and tunnels, repair to the transit system was watched very closely. MTA employees quickly began "unwatering" the subway tunnels. Another group who were urgent to the scene were the US army corps of engineers (USACE), they were brought in to assist in emptying out the vehicular tunnels (the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel, Holland tunnel, Queens midtown tunnel) and the New Jersey Path train tunnels. The army corps engineers are serious – they're part of a planning and response team based in Illinois and are regularly deployed around the country to help with events like this. Many of them assisted in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit. Crews were even driven in from as far away as Mississippi to help with electrical crews in the …show more content…
Despite covering entrances and vents, erecting floodwalls across tracks, and readying pumps, each of the seven subway tunnels leading into lower Manhattan took on water, and the South Ferry station flooded to the roof. The 86th Street tracks looked like a river. MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said, “for starters, it would have higher entrances and ventilation grates.” This would have definitely brought less flooding into the subways. Apparently the MTA had been working to elevate subway entrances and air vents ever since a sudden summer deluge in 2007 dropped 3.5 inches of rain and overwhelmed the subway’s pumps, shutting down 19 lines. So far the MTA has raised entrances at 30 stations and ventilation grates on low-lying lines, and they will continue to do so, especially after
Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic storm ever and second most costly storm in United States History (Preliminary estimates of losses due to damage and business interruption are estimated at $65.5 billion), made it painfully clear exactly how fragile a city composed mostly of low-lying islands can be. At the beginning of the storm, Mayor Bloomberg announced that New York City public schools would be closed Tuesday, October 30 and Wednesday, October 31, however they actually remained closed until November 2. The New York Stock Exchange was also closed for a consecutive two days, the first time ever in US history as well. When the storm hit the East River overflowed its banks, flooding large sections of Lower …show more content…
And with millions dependent on New York City's subways and tunnels, repair to the transit system was watched very closely. MTA employees quickly began "unwatering" the subway tunnels. Another group who were urgent to the scene were the US army corps of engineers (USACE), they were brought in to assist in emptying out the vehicular tunnels (the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel, Holland tunnel, Queens midtown tunnel) and the New Jersey Path train tunnels. The army corps engineers are serious – they're part of a planning and response team based in Illinois and are regularly deployed around the country to help with events like this. Many of them assisted in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit. Crews were even driven in from as far away as Mississippi to help with electrical crews in the …show more content…
Despite covering entrances and vents, erecting floodwalls across tracks, and readying pumps, each of the seven subway tunnels leading into lower Manhattan took on water, and the South Ferry station flooded to the roof. The 86th Street tracks looked like a river. MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said, “for starters, it would have higher entrances and ventilation grates.” This would have definitely brought less flooding into the subways. Apparently the MTA had been working to elevate subway entrances and air vents ever since a sudden summer deluge in 2007 dropped 3.5 inches of rain and overwhelmed the subway’s pumps, shutting down 19 lines. So far the MTA has raised entrances at 30 stations and ventilation grates on low-lying lines, and they will continue to do so, especially after