New York City should brace itself for more severe flooding over the next several decades, finds a new study.
New York City should brace itself for more severe flooding over the next several decades, finds a new study.
According to researchers from Rutgers University, Princeton University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the area “can expect 9-foot floods, as intense as that produced by 2012's Superstorm Sandy...”
The team found out that these incidents are expected to become more frequent, with an increased likelihood of between 3 to 17 times the current rate “over the next century.”
As such, one of the paper’s authors, Benjamin Horton, noted, “The grand answer is that things are going to get worse by 2100.”
To arrive at these conclusions, the team used historical records of New York City’s tides and geological assessments to determine future potential sea level changes and storm severities.
Despite their belief that rising sea levels will contribute to serious flooding events similar to those witnessed after Sandy, researchers acknowledge that the effect could be mitigated somewhat based on the variability of approaching hurricanes.
