After Ida, infrastructure becomes key in prevention

Deadly flooding delivered to the Northeast by the torrential rains of what remained of Hurricane Ida has brought a new urgency and a fresh look to how roads, sewers, bridges and other infrastructure must be improved to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again.

The world is changing and “our whole mindset, the playbook that we use,” must change too, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday as he toured Mullica Hills, New Jersey, where a 150-mph tornado splintered homes. “We have got to leap forward and get out ahead of this.”

The devastation exposed flaws in preparation plans even after New Jersey and New York spent billions of dollars to prevent a reoccurrence of Superstorm Sandy’s destruction in 2012, with much spent to protect coastal communities.

“Flash floods are now coming. It’s not waves off the ocean or the sound,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said soon after last week’s storm swept through.

Hochul and Murphy, both Democrats, agreed that the increasing frequency and intensity of storms demand a new approach that factors in flash floods.

The storm dumped so much rain so fast that a record 3 inches fell in an hour in New York Wednesday, overwhelming drainage systems. Some lives were lost when water flooded basement apartments, subway stations and vehicles. At least 50 people died in five northeastern states.

Hochul promised new answers to pressing questions, like whether warnings were clear enough and communications with the weather service were flawed as well as if subways needed a faster shutdown.

To weaken effects of future storms, New York and other areas can learn from other cities like Singapore, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, where solutions included turning asphalt parking lots and schoolyards into spaces that can retain water, said Amy Chester, managing director for the nonprofit Rebuild by Design.

“Climate change is expensive. We’re going to have to spend money on it and every single dollar we spend in any type of infrastructure needs to take into consideration the future,” she said.

Redlener, the disaster preparedness expert, said New York City and other communities need to rethink warning systems and consider reengineering drainage, electrical and storm warning systems.