Sustainability Case Study: Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy Case Study

Problem Statement Hurricane Sandy was a rare hybrid storm that spread over 1,000 miles in circumference and affected 24 states along the East Coast of the United States and inland across the Appalachian Mountains into Wisconsin and Michigan. Hurricane Sandy brought high winds and record storm surges that led to major flooding, property damage and deaths in states along the East Coast. Advanced technology allowed for the early detection of this storm far in advance of it making landfall on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States giving plenty of time for emergency preparation plans to take place. However, poor land use management and the lack of former mitigation practices, that cannot soon be undone, have placed many people and significant amounts of property and other structures in harm 's way increasing not only human vulnerability, but that of the environment as well.
Another caveat to this unique storm was the fact that, given its immense size, it would affect multiple regions at once creating an important need for inter-agency coordination and communication. The vast majority of failures in the management and response to emergency events, such as super storms like Hurricane Sandy, has been attributed to a lack of communication and coordination among personnel charged with emergency management across all levels of government – federal, state, local and tribal. The
Instead, the definition of sustainability focuses on growing areas of the city accessible to transit, employment opportunities, a better selection of housing choices, water and energy conservation, and using materials and methods to improve public health. Albeit these ideas may be noble, they do not present solutions on improving environmental sustainability, which is key to increasing human