During the winter season of 2013-2014 there have been many more avalanches than in previous years. The season has been the harshest in decades — in some localities, the harshest in centuries. In certain areas, snowfall has broken ALL records since recording began over a 100 years ago.

It seems that every day brings another story of snowmobilers, skiers, or hikers being swept away by an avalanche. In late February of 2014, an avalanche roared into a residential area of Missoula, Montana, leveling a home and burying three people. Fortunately, the three victims were uncovered by rescuers and transported to a hospital.

Meanwhile, in California, months of extreme record-breaking drought were interrupted by furious storms that will not break the drought, but have produced dangerous mudslides and widespread flooding. When parched, cracked ground is deluged suddenly, little of the water is able to penetrate the hard-packed earth, and the vast majority of the water runs off; often in exactly the wrong direction.

Conversely, in most of the continental US, this winter has brought too much precipitation. Areas that have been persistently inundated this winter now have ground that cannot absorb any more water. And yet, many of these areas have an immense snowpack that will inevitably melt, resulting in far too much water — all at once — for the sodden ground to soak up.

Record snowfall, particularly in the western states, has produced a mountainous snowpack that exceeds a depth of 23′ in some places. The impact of this much snow, melting all at once, cannot be taken lightly. There is simply no place for all that water. Should a sudden thaw take place, disaster experts predict flooding of biblical proportions.

Rivers that are already at the bursting point will be presented with massive amounts of runoff from snowpack melt. Add to that the normal spring showers that happen every year, and these rivers will surely breach banks, levees, and flood walls this spring. Authorities from Montana to Maryland are anxiously eyeing weather reports and stepping up flood defenses.

Floods kill more people than hurricanes, lightning, or tornados in a given year, and this spring thaw could bring deadly results in communities that lack proper flood barriers. Even those that do have new flood barriers will see the defenses tested in real time — with a disastrous price for failure. A winter marred by many avalanche deaths could make way for a spring that brings many more flooding casualties.

Source: http://www.floodbarrierusa.com/

For centuries, the Netherlands has been staving off the seas that threaten to claim the vast majority of Dutch real estate. Flood barriers and sea walls of all descriptions have been used, with various degrees of success. Over the years, the Dutch people have learned, via endless trial and error, the best practices for holding back the water.

However, even the Netherlands cannot completely control flooding in the event of a major storm surge. In the year 1953, the North Sea invaded the country, devastating the countryside and taking 1,835 lives in a single night. After that horrible event, the Netherlands developed a different strategy, which involved working with nature instead of against it. Now, flood authorities allow water into the land in a controlled manner. Canals and waterways stretch deep into the land, allowing floodwaters to follow a natural path that minimizes damage by keeping the water inside the designated water-routes.

After floodings of 1953 in the Netherlands the Deltaworks were executed to protect the coast. Part of the work was the closure of a sea arm called Het Volkerak. Open caissons where placed in the opening and closed when the tidal current was dead and then the caissons were quickly filled with sand and covered up.

Manhattan and other flood-prone parts of New York and New Jersey face nowhere near the same challenges as low-lying Netherlands. It is not true, as it is for Holland, that most of the land in these areas lies below sea level. However, it is true that Manhattan, New York, and New Jersey will suffer an ever-increasing threat of regular flooding due to sea level rise, increasing frequency of large storms, and other factors. Now we find that architects, engineers, and city planners are looking to the Netherlands for models of effective flood control on a regional basis.

Recently, New York Governor Cuomo announced a plan to emulate one of the most successful policies that has been implemented in the Netherlands. Cuomo’s plan calls for buying back property that probably should never have been developed in the first place. The plan will then replace existing homes and businesses with wetlands, parks, and greenbelts that can absorb and safely divert floodwaters. Sand dunes will be placed to act as natural flood barriers that will block major surges and channel the water in the desired direction.

This plan is somewhat of a departure from the usual American attitude, which tends to emphasize disaster relief over disaster prevention. But with the greater frequency of major storms, the horrific loss of life and immense financial cost of such a response, more and more communities are beginning to look for a new approach. Governor Cuomo is not alone in shifting towards a preventive outlook, but he is surely one of the most prominent proponents, and he has the resources to put his ideas into action.

The Governor envisions a changed coastal zone with development pushed back from the seaside. Flood barriers will be natural if possible, and aesthetically pleasing in most cases. The new flood absorption zones will provide many opportunities for recreation, bird watching, and pleasure boating. Displaced property owners will be coaxed into cooperation with cash compensation and relocation assistance.

Although the plan will not be palatable for every affected citizen, the majority will benefit from reduced threat of flooding, attractive new recreational zones, and perhaps even lower flood insurance rates. US flood control companies, some using experience gleaned over centuries in the Netherlands, will help build a safer and more beautiful New York. This assistance from the Netherlands is perhaps very appropriate considering that New York was originally settled by the Dutch, who named their colony New Amsterdam.

Source: http://www.floodbarrierusa.com/

More than a year after Hurricane Sandy, many displaced residents are still suffering long-lasting repercussions from the massive disaster. Many of the areas that were most affected by the wrath of the storm were populated by low-income residents who have few resources with which to rebound from displacement. These areas were already densely populated before the storm, and the sudden loss of thousands of rental units presented a catastrophe for those seeking affordable housing.

Long Beach, N.Y., October 26, 2013 — Residents, first responders and politicians gathered in front of City Hall to observe the one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. After speeches by local officials and N.Y. Senator Charles Schumer, the crowd watched a short film directed by Craig Weintraub recounting the day the hurricane hit and the efforts of residents to recover. K.C.Wilsey/FEMA

Options for housing after the storm were limited, to say the least. Many people moved in with friends and relatives, moved away from the area, or even lived outdoors in the sand dunes. Formal shelters could not begin to absorb the thousands of newly homeless families that sought assistance after losing everything.

The hurricane has been a disaster for renters and owners alike. Many homeowners were staying afloat financially by renting out part of their house, usually a basement. Naturally, basements did not fare well during the floods! Therefore, home owners who were scraping by before Hurricane Sandy by relying on rental income have had to face foreclosure without the extra income. In some neighborhoods, foreclosures have increased by 60% since Sandy swept through.

In addition to loss of income from rental units, exorbitant repair bills, and slow, inadequate insurance payouts, property owners now have to face additional expense in the form of sky-high increases in their insurance premiums. In many cases, this seems like a slap in the face to struggling property owners. Not only do they have to wait a very long time for paltry payouts that do not begin to cover expenses, but now they will have to pay MUCH more to continue that inadequate coverage.

Federal and State grants to rebuild homes and businesses are still being awarded at a snail’s pace. While the funds are supposedly available to help those in need, and politicians crow about their successes in securing funds for their constituents, the actual dollars are trickling in to very few coffers. In some communities, only 25% of claims have been processed, leaving most claimants wondering when — if ever — they will receive critically needed assistance.

Fortunately, not all communities in the path of Hurricane Sandy suffered utter devastation. Fortuitous surprises, as well as prudent planning, played a role in protecting some neighborhoods. One community in New Jersey was protected by a flood barrier that no one knew about: a sea-wall that had long been buried and forgotten. This sea-wall did its job and held back the same floodwaters that all but destroyed a community right next door — one that did not have such a barrier in place.

Communities that foresaw the threat from flooding fared better than their neighbors. Beachside neighborhoods that had maintained sand dunes and concrete sea-walls were able to withstand the fury of the storm much better than those without. Whether the flood barriers were natural or man-made, the protection to structures could not have been made more clear during Hurricane Sandy. More than one year after the storm, those communities that lacked flood barriers have snapped back to normalcy, while those that lacked flood protection are languishing.

Source: http://www.floodbarrierusa.com/

US officials in the Department of Housing and Urban Development have announced the winners of an international design contest aimed at generating fresh ideas to protect the coastal areas of New York and New Jersey. The top ten ideas were announced on November 14th, chosen out of a total of 41 plans submitted to the contest. Over 200 engineers and architects were involved in the project.

From RebuildByDesign.org — Long Island Sound model

The teams associated with the top ten winning ideas will now move into a new phase of the contest, in which they will create concrete models of their plan, and will in some cases use computer generated simulations to assess the viability of the plan.

Contest officials stress that the winning ideas may never be implemented in real life, but maintain that the contest is important to foment regional conversation about the drastic changes that may be necessary to hold off rising tides and large storms resulting from climate change.

The contest was funded in part by the Rockefeller Foundation, and is called Rebuild by Design. More information about the contest results for New York and New Jersey, as well as projects planned in other parts of the US, may be found here: RebuildByDesign.org.

A few of the top ten projects are:

• Construction of canals and water-stopping parks in Hoboken, New Jersey. The green parks would be used for recreation purposes, but in the event of flooding would also act as natural sponges to soak up or safely divert floodwaters.
• Breakwaters, using natural materials, would be built off Staten Island to buffer storm surges.
• An eight-mile network of dikes and flood barriers, designed to be ringed around the perimeter of Manhattan Island. This project, known as The Big U, has particularly captured imaginations due to its breathtaking scope- and corresponding price tag!
• Addition of green flood-absorption areas around the dock areas of the Bronx. This waterfront area is hugely important to the food distribution process- even more critical during times of natural disaster.
• Conversion of current green parks and meadows into tidal zones. New development might be planned around these flood-absorbing zones.
• Man-made barrier islands to stretch the entire length of the New Jersey coastline. This island could be oyster beds in order to add extra benefit to the flood barrier properties of the island.

Although these ideas may never come to fruition in the real world, many of the good ideas from the contest will serve to initiate regional cooperation and conversation about the very real threats facing coastal areas in the coming years.

Source: http://www.floodbarrierusa.com/