hurricane sandy case study quizlet

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Superstorm Sandy, October 2012

• Food Safety and Health After a Hurricane
• Cleaning Up

A Long Path to Recovery

October 29, 2014

Superstorm Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012, causing 117 deaths and inflicting billions of dollars of economic damages in the United States. Two years later the economic, environmental, health and social impacts are still felt among many of the affected residents.

Over 300,000 homes in New York and 350,000 in New Jersey and were damaged or destroyed by Sandy, with a substantial number of the affected homes being uninsured or belonging to low income households [1]. Two years later, it is difficult to obtain accurate estimates of how many people have still not returned to their homes. News reports have documented the growing frustration of Sandy survivors desperate to avoid homelessness or find stable housing amid rising costs and running out of housing assistance [2,3]. According to the NYC Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations and the Build it Back Program, construction is underway in 757 homes and 158 have been fully repaired. Yet, the households that have received assistance represent only a small fraction of those in need – according to the New York Post there are 14,000 active applicants in the Build It Back program [4].

Children are especially vulnerable in emergency situations and their performance in school and learning ability may be severely affected as a result of homelessness and abrupt relocation. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid in the media to the current conditions and outstanding needs of the thousands of children that were displaced from their homes after Superstorm Sandy [ 5 ]. A comprehensive assessment of how many children affected by the storm have not been able to successfully return to their schools, catch up with the school material or still suffer mental and physical impacts is unavailable.

Although the immediate impacts of extreme events like Hurricane Sandy such as loss of life and property have the most devastating impacts on communities and receive the most attention, they are often only a precursor to long term physical and mental health impacts that will likely affect individuals and communities for many years. For instance, mold resulting from flood damage is associated with a number of respiratory and asthma-related health outcomes [ 6 ]. A survey carried out 6 months after the storm found that nearly two-thirds of households had mold, and 90% of those who attempted to remove the mold on their own were unsuccessful [ 7 ]. Access to professional mold removal services is critical because self-remediation of mold, particularly in the absence of training and personal protective equipment may further exacerbate the risk for mold-related symptoms [ 8 ].

Finally, although extreme events affect individuals indiscriminately, they have most devastating impacts on those who are already vulnerable. A recent study of Jersey Shore residents with health impairments and disabilities found that sleep problems, pain and suicidal thoughts were related to adverse mental health outcomes following Sandy [ 9 ]. In addition, the psychological impacts of Sandy may be particularly devastating among individuals that have been previously exposed to other traumatic events, such as 9/11 [ 10 ].

Lessons Learned for the Health System

While the disaster highlighted the heroism and resourcefulness of healthcare professionals and other responders, it also exposed the great vulnerability of the healthcare system and infrastructure. In a  symposium  jointly held by the Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security at Northeastern University and NCDP in December 2013, disaster preparedness experts sought to identify lessons to be learned from the Sandy experience to bolster health system and service resilience and to inform and forward a national agenda for managing the growing risk of extreme weather and other disasters [ 11 ].

The Symposium, consisting of health systems and public health leaders, emergency managers and other experts identified several key areas for improving the resilience of the healthcare system. There was a consensus among the participants that a better understanding and management of the interconnections between the various players and domains constituting the healthcare systems is essential in preparing for and responding to future disasters. Important players and domains include the primary care providers, secondary and tertiary care facilities, home care providers, child well-being care in the child welfare system, nursing homes and adult care centers, managed care companies and healthcare regulators and standard of care centers. Since patients move into and out of the various domains during emergency situations, a better coordination among them, as well as collaborative decision-making will be essential in responding to future emergency situations.

A recent governmental report on the hospital emergency preparedness and response during Superstorm Sandy found that 89 percent of the hospitals in declared disaster areas experienced considerable challenges in responding to the storm. Nonetheless, 93 percent of the hospitals sheltered in place, serving multiple functions during the storm. Patient care and staffing were identified as the two broad critical challenges reported by hospitals [ 12 ].

Recovery Funding

As of August 2014 slightly over $11 million have been paid out of about $19 million awarded to nineteen agencies under the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act that was passed by Congress to provide emergency disaster assistance to Hurricane Sandy survivors.

This amount represents less than a quarter of the $48 billion appropriated by Congress under the Act.  Figures 1   and 2  present data on the total funds awarded and paid out and the amounts by agency, respectively. Systematic information on how the recovery money is being spent is not easily available.

Funding to individuals is also difficult to track. For example, about 179,000 households in New York and New Jersey received FEMA payments for property damage or temporary housing [ 13 ]. However, it is unclear how many of the recipients have been able to return to their homes and to what extent the needs of the affected individuals are being met. In addition, as of September, FEMA has investigated about 4,500 households for improper payments and has asked 850 of them to return a total of $5.8 million, indicating deficiencies in the management and allocation of resources.

NCDP’s Work on the Ground

NCDP has been involved with numerous projects evaluating Sandy’s impacts on the health system, population health and well-being, environmental health impacts and disaster recovery.

• The  Sandy Child and Family Health (S-CAFH) Study , one of the largest disaster recovery studies in the New Jersey region to date, is a joint effort of Rutgers University and Columbia University funded by the New Jersey Department of Health. The S-CAFH team is administering a face-to-face bilingual survey to a random sample of 1,000 New Jersey households affected by the storm. The major goals of the study is to investigate decision-making during the evacuation and recovery, assess long-term impacts of the storm on the health and well-being of affected children and adults, and highlight the factors and resources that survey participants have found most helpful in the recovery process.
• A CDC/NIOSH study focused on mold mitigation will assess the environmental health impacts of Superstorm Sandy and evaluate the effectiveness of New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) worker safety training program on the health of individuals and volunteers who performed remediation work in homes affected by Hurricane Sandy in New York City. In addition, the study will also assess the economic and social impact of the Hurricane on the households. The findings from this work will be particularly relevant to developing more effective public health interventions to minimize injury and illness following hurricanes and coastal storms.
• The CDC funded  Sandy Public Health Systems  research project will develop case studies of how two suburban health departments in the New York City region prepared for and then responded to Hurricane Sandy months after the storm, The case studies will identify challenges and obstacles these departments encountered in fulfilling their emergency response and recovery functions, related to planning, coordination, capabilities, resource allocation, logistics, and communications—problems that if addressed through education, training and other types of remediation can make these agencies (and others like them) more effective in supporting the ongoing long-term recovery from Hurricane Sandy. The project will generate and deliver new face-to-face training programs and online training products that will help these and other public health departments kick-start necessary improvements.
• The SHOREline program is also turning its attention to Sandy in a different way: by starting a “Katrina/Sandy Youth Dialogue Project,” a rapid SHOREline module in which SHOREline Chapters in the respective regions of the Gulf Coast and NYC experienced major hurricanes – ten years ago for Katrina and two years ago for Sandy have started a video dialogue. There will be a back and form of up to five video questions about hurricane recovery from NYC SHOREliners to five video answers from Gulf Coast SHOREliners. We envision this project about disaster recovery as a means for SHOREline youth to communicate about what they see around them, and what they have experienced, and as a way of making powerful connections. These snapshot videos can also highlight the strength and scope of SHOREline to many people who are unaware of our project’s mission to support “youth helping youth recover from disaster.”

Author:  Elisaveta Petkova , Research Associate

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Article contents

Hurricane sandy: a crisis analysis case study.

• Sara Bondesson Sara Bondesson Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership, Swedish Defence University
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1598
• Published online: 19 November 2020

Spontaneous, so-called emergent groups often arise in response to emergencies, disasters, and crises where citizens and relief workers find that pre-established norms of behavior, roles, and practices come into flux because of the severity and uncertainty of the situation. The scholarship on emergent groups dates to 1950s sociological theory on emergence and convergence, whereas contemporary research forms part of the wider disaster scholarship field. Emergent groups have been conceptualized and theorized from various angles, ranging from discussions around their effectiveness, to their possibilities as channels for the positive forces of citizen’s altruism, as well as to more skeptical accounts detailing the challenges emergent groups may pose for established emergency management organizations in relief situations. Scarce scholarly attention, however, is paid to the role of emergent groups when it comes to empowering marginalized and vulnerable communities. The few empirical studies that exist suggest linkages between active participation in emergent groups and empowerment of otherwise marginalized communities, as shown in an ethnographic study of the work of Occupy Sandy that emerged in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that struck New York City in 2012. Although more systematic research is warranted, such empirical examples show potential in terms of shifting emergency and disaster management toward more inclusionary, participatory, and empowering practices. As low-income communities, often of color, experience the increasingly harsh effects of climate change, important issues to ponder are inclusion, participation, and empowerment.

• emergent groups
• empowerment
• emancipation
• disaster risk reduction (DRR)
• disaster relief
• disaster management
• emergency management
• Hurricane Sandy
• crisis analysis

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Homes in Seaside Heights, New Jersey sit in ruins on the Atlantic Ocean waterfront after being destroyed by Hurricane Sandy on October 31, 2012. At least 147 people were reportedly killed by Sandy, and New Jersey suffered massive damage and power outages.

• ENVIRONMENT

Hurricane Sandy, explained

Superstorm Sandy was actually several storms wrapped together, which made it one of the most damaging hurricanes ever to make landfall in the U.S.

A “ raging freak of nature ” is how National Geographic described Hurricane Sandy when it hit land in fall 2012.

From beginning to end, Hurricane Sandy's progression caused deadly flooding, mudslides, and destructive winds from the Caribbean to the U.S. East Coast. An unusual combination of hurricane conditions and cold fronts made Sandy particularly potent. In the nine days that Sandy raged, it killed 70 people in the Caribbean and almost 150 people in the U.S.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates Sandy caused at least $70 billion in damages , making it among the costliest storms in U.S. history.

Though Sandy is often described as an anomaly, for many it was a call to action. The disaster showed how vulnerable wider areas of the United States are to extreme weather events, particularly in a time when scientists warn that climate change is threatening sea-level rise and hotter temperatures. Since the storm, affected regions have rethought their disaster plans to try and increase their preparedness.

How did Sandy form?

On October 22, 2012, a tropical depression formed off the northeast coast of Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea. Two days later, it strengthened and officially became a Category 1 hurricane as it moved northeast. Hurricane Sandy passed over Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

( What are hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons ?)

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It pummeled Haiti with rain, setting off a torrent of mudslides that killed at least 50 people. By October 26, it had passed over Puerto Rico and Cuba, damaging the historic city of Santiago de Cuba.

Over the next few days, Hurricane Sandy continued north. It weakened to a tropical depression once reaching the Bahamas on October 27, but then it quickly restrengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. NOAA reports that this reformed structure was unusual and was spurred by warm waters. The tempest became huge, with a radius that stretched 100 miles.

The wide-reaching storm progressed up the U.S. East Coast. It stayed several hundred miles offshore when passing the Carolinas, but it still pushed large waves and massive amounts of rain ashore. Roads were washed away in the Outer Banks.

Sandy moved past Delaware and New Jersey, unleashing more havoc as it collided with a cold front heading east toward the Atlantic . A separate high-pressure storm to the north of Sandy prevented it from moving away from shore, effectively trapping the now combined storm systems along the coast. Sandy's winds now extended 1,000 miles along the coast.

Because it became a hybrid of two storm systems and grew to be so immense, the press dubbed Sandy a Frankenstorm at the time.

A full moon added to the deadly storm surge that resulted, which increased the tide pushed ashore by a foot.

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10 years later, see how Superstorm Sandy changed the Northeast

As the tropical storm system mixed with cooler air, it lost its hurricane structure but retained its intense winds. It was ultimately dubbed a superstorm , an unofficial designation given to large storms that don't easily fit into a single classification.

As the superstorm hit the coasts of New Jersey and New York, it packed a wallop. Parts of New York City near lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island flooded, temporarily paralyzing the city's subway system. As it progressed Sandy dropped a deluge of snow in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

Over 8 million people lost power during the story, and outages were seen for days in some major cities, while outlying areas were without power for weeks. Power outages from Sandy were experienced as far west as Michigan .

On October 30, the storm began to weaken as it moved inland before finally dissipating the next day over Pennsylvania. Even as the remains of Sandy moved west of Pittsburgh, the tempest's immense size continued to push storm surges toward New York and cause additional flooding. At its maximum size the storm covered a quarter of the continental U.S.

Sandy's aftermath

Two years after Sandy, experts broke down why the storm was so deadly. All but one European weather model had predicted the storm would turn and travel out to sea instead of striking the U.S. Just before the storm hit, the National Hurricane Center put local weather offices in charge of issuing advisories. Many people chose not to evacuate.

Many homes along the East Coast were destroyed, with parts of the Jersey Shore and Staten Island particularly impacted. As long as five years after, some residents were still rebuilding , with many relocating to higher ground. Thousands of people were temporarily left homeless, and more than 20,000 households were displaced a year after the storm hit.

Though the storm itself wasn't as strong as other infamous hurricanes, a combination of weather factors and the fact that much of the region was unprepared for it contributed to high levels of damage.

Sandy is considered the fourth most expensive storm in U.S. history, and more than 600,000 housing units were destroyed in New Jersey and New York . The government of New York City estimates that $19 billion in damage was inflicted on the city alone. Five years after Sandy, more than a thousand New Jersey residents reported still being unable to return home.

A report published by the city of New York outlines where the region was vulnerable to a storm the size of Sandy . It found that while some infrastructure like flood walls was out-of-date, the city also did not have sufficient plans in place to deal with the disaster. Most businesses and homeowners in New York City did not have flood insurance, having never suspected a storm the size of Sandy could reach so far north.

As a result, Hurricane Sandy served as a wakeup call for many in the region.

In addition to providing state funding to help struggling people rebuild their homes, New York and New Jersey also invested in rebuilding their outdated infrastructure meant to prevent flooding. Even in 2019, some East Coast cities are still pushing for additional funding to rebuild dunes and barriers destroyed by Sandy.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at the time that his state's infrastructure needed to be rethought, not just rebuilt. Climate experts predict that extreme weather events like Sandy will become more common as the planet warms , warning that leaders need to both prepare for a more uncertain world and work to reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

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Hurricane Sandy: Evaluating the Response One Year Later

Critical Questions by Sarah Ladislaw and Stephanie Sanok Kostro and Molly Walton

Published November 4, 2013

On Friday President Obama issued a new executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate with state and local actors to increase the  ability to prepare for the impacts of climate change and to improve the resiliency of communities and infrastructure.  The order also establishes a task force, comprised of state, local and tribal officials that will advise the federal government on climate preparedness and resilience.  Such an announcement is timely as this past week marked the one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and, at an estimated cost of over $65 billion , the 2nd most expensive hurricane in US history. Twenty four states – mostly along the eastern seaboard of the United States – sustained physical and financial damage from the storm. The impact of the storm highlighted vulnerabilities of key infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, sewage, water, energy systems) that stemmed in part from a lack of investment in sufficient hardening, giving rise to questions regarding our preparedness as a nation for natural disasters, our mechanisms of response, and the appropriate roles for federal, state, and local governments, philanthropic organizations, and private sector entities in such events. Of course, over the previous decades Hurricane Katrina, other hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods and their associated costs repeatedly brought to light these very same issues. However, the ensuing national dialogue was a bit different after Hurricane Sandy. Whereas before the focus of the debate had often centered on whether storms were caused or strengthened by climate change, Hurricane Sandy brought to the fore a broader, sustained discussion on the need for adaptation and the importance of resiliency efforts that had long been debated in academic, corporate, and policy circles and in areas often hard-hit by hurricanes, like the Gulf Coast. After Hurricane Sandy, the focus was squarely on how to move forward with longer-term preparedness and recovery efforts . Q1 : What were the preparedness and response efforts by both the federal government and the state governments leading up to Hurricane Sandy? A1 : In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy pounded the east coast, severely impacting densely populated areas of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut with strong winds, heavy rains, and record storm surges; millions of people lost power, roads flooded so transport options were restricted, and thousands sought temporary shelter as homes and businesses were destroyed.  Nearly 160 people lost their lives in Hurricane Sandy and many communities are still rebuilding. Learning from past challenges in preparing for, and providing relief efforts after, Hurricane Katrina, the federal government – led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with support from other federal departments – began to place staff and assets in the predicted impact areas before the storm made landfall and worked with state counterparts to coordinate potential emergency response and relief. On October 28, 2012, one day before the storm made landfall in New Jersey, President Obama signed emergency declarations for Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, allowing FEMA to transfer resources directly to state, local, and tribal organizations to make preparations in advance of the storm. He signed additional emergency declarations for other states, such as Delaware and West Virginia, in the following days. On October 30th, President Obama directed FEMA to create the National Power Restoration Taskforce, which was to minimize red tape, increase coordination among government agencies at all levels and the private sector, and rapidly restore fuel and power. Such actions show a marked change from the way authorities dealt with Hurricane Katrina, this time FEMA was proactive rather than reactive. This is due in part to legislation approved by Congress to restructure FEMA following the miscues of Hurricane Katrina, which allowed quicker access to federal resources and increased communication and partnerships between the federal, state and local agencies. States also began anticipating response, relief, and longer-term recovery requirements, leveraging their existing relationships with private sector, community-based, philanthropic, media, and other organizations to communicate with residents and business-owners and to call in the necessary staff, first responders, and other disaster relief workers. Public-private partnerships, in particular, were a critical element to activate before disaster struck; those partnerships – coupled with disaster grants and volunteer organizations – were a key element of immediate response and longer-term recovery efforts. Over the past year, the administration has provided over 230,000 people and businesses with assistance through its various departments (FEMA, Small Business Administration (SBA), Department of Labor among others). Q2: Did Hurricane Sandy cause governments to approach natural disaster preparedness and management differently?  A2:  The Federal government took several significant steps in the months that followed Hurricane Sandy, focusing primarily on legislative reforms, innovations, and public-private partnerships. In January 2013, President Obama signed two critical pieces of legislation: H.R. 41 (Public Law 113-1), which increased the borrowing authority of FEMA by almost $10 billion as an emergency requirement, allowing the agency to continue to pay flood insurance and other disaster-related claims; and the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (Public Law 113-2), which provided $50 billion in funding to help rebuild the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy. In February 2013, he created a Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, chaired by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, to coordinate Federal support and to work with state, local, and tribal communities in the impacted states. In August 2013, the Task Force released a Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy , which provides recommendations for the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy to rebuild and better prepare for future extreme weather events.  Recommendations include: promoting resilient rebuilding; ensuring regionally coordinated and resilient approaches to infrastructure investment; providing families safe and affordable housing options and protections; supporting small businesses and revitalizing local economies; addressing insurance challenges; and increasing local government’s capacity to plan for long-term rebuilding and preparations for future disasters. The Strategy also assesses ways to harden energy infrastructure to ensure minimal power disruptions and fuel shortages and how to maintain continuous cellular service. These recommendations, if implemented fully, promise to go a long way in addressing key challenges demonstrated by Hurricane Sandy and other previous natural disasters. In addition, microgrids were identified as a key way to improve energy resiliency and the Department of Energy announced in the summer of 2013 plans to partner with the state of New Jersey, NJ Transit, and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to install a microgrid capable of supplying power during a storm. Connecticut was the first state to establish a microgrid program and in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is looking to utilize private-public partnerships to put in place 800 megawatt installed capacity of microgrid and distributed generation systems by 2030. In fact, New York City has been a leader in its efforts to better plan for the impacts from increased climatic events. In December 2012, NYC formed the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency and tasked it with assessing the risks faced by New York’s infrastructure, buildings and communities from the impacts of climate change in the medium (2020) and long term (2060s) and to produce a strategy to increase the resiliency of the city.  On June 11, 2013, Mayor Bloomberg released a report called “ A Stronger, More Resilient New York ” which has several initiatives that address coastal protection, insurance, utilities, community preparedness and response, transportation, telecommunication, water and wastewater as well as plans to rebuild communities that were hard hit in order to make them more resilient. Friday’s Executive Order- Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change , further highlights the attention being paid towards increasing the resiliency of communities and infrastructure and the need for greater investment by and coordination between federal, state and local actors to help prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Q3: How has Hurricane Sandy helped us to understand our energy sector vulnerabilities?

A3: Critical infrastructure was drastically impacted by Hurricane Sandy and some of the impacts, such as power outages, lasted several days. This blatant reminder of key existing vulnerabilities within our infrastructure prompted several studies designed to better understand these vulnerabilities and their potential knock on effects and to explore opportunities to improve the resiliency of these systems to ensure that in the event of a disaster (natural or man-made) that the necessary emergency response functions remain operational. For example, a study sponsored by the US Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) prepared by ICF International evaluated the potential for combined heat and power (CHP) to mitigate the potential disruption of critical infrastructure. Another study, released in July 2013 by the Department of Energy called “ U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather” was part of the administration’s national climate change adaptation plan as coordinated through the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force and Strategic Sustainability Planning (established under Executive Order 13512). The report identifies five key technologies that will be a key part of a climate-resilient energy system: upgraded power grid (via the development of microgrids and distributed generation), crisis hardened facilities (and the placement of critical electricity infrastructure in less vulnerable places), less-water intensive fracking, drought tolerant biofuel crops, and less water-dependent power plants.

Q4:  Where does climate fit in Obama’s second term?

A4: President Obama has long argued that climate change is a fundamental challenge of our time. In his first term, the Obama administration aggressively pursued cap and trade and clean-energy/low carbon policies only to have the landscape completely shift with the emergence of unconventional natural gas and a dramatic and prolonged economic downturn. Each of these challenged the narrative and the justifications used by the administration to aggressively pursue the decarbonization of the economy. However, with his re-election and his remarks about climate change in his second inaugural address and the state of the union, President Obama signaled that climate change was once again a component of his agenda. In June of 2013, the administration laid out its plan for dealing with climate change , committing to reducing U.S. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to nearly 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The President’s Climate Action Plan was comprised of three key categories: carbon reduction, adaptation and preparedness efforts and international collaboration.

Q5: Did Hurricane Sandy change the debate on climate change?

A5: There has been an increasing shift in focus regarding climate change away from a mitigation mindset to a broader narrative that incorporates themes such as adaptation and resiliency.   Resiliency has increasingly become a buzzword, especially as climatic events occur with greater frequency.  Hurricane Sandy, while only one of many weather related events that impacted US energy systems in recent years, intensified the debate surrounding the need to harden our infrastructure to withstand the impacts of climate change that events prior had been unable to do. Thus, it would seem that Hurricane Sandy has helped recast the narrative for technologies such as smart grid, distributed energy and energy storage. Such technologies used to be marketed as a way to reduce carbon emissions and increase the penetration of renewable energy. Now, they are seen as key component of a climate-resilient energy strategy, and are now discussed as a way to introduce greater reliability and resiliency into the energy system.

It remains to be seen whether or not this shift is here to stay at a national level or if only those localities impacted by Hurricane Sandy will pursue resiliency oriented policies.  Historically, the attention span of the general populous has waxed and waned from crisis to crisis (we are in general reactive rather than proactive), making it difficult to sustain support (monetary as well as political) for implementing the changes required to create  a climate resiliency framework. However, it is worth noting that adaptation and preparedness are a major prong of the President’s Climate Action plan and locally, especially in areas like New Jersey and New York, the focus on resiliency has filtered into policy plans.

Molly A. Walton is a Research Associate with the Energy and National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Sarah O. Ladislaw is Co-Director of the Energy and National Security Program and Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Stephanie Sanok Kostro is acting director of the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C Critical Questions is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

Sarah Ladislaw

Stephanie sanok kostro and molly walton, programs & projects.

• Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program

News from the Columbia Climate School

The Science and the Lessons of Hurricane Sandy

David Funkhouser

This post was updated on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.

After Sandy: Climate and Our Coastal Future

What are the ongoing risks faced by New York City and our other coastal communities? What does the science of climate change tell us? How can we engineer new solutions? What are the policy issues raised by the impact of this megastorm?

Experts from across Columbia University and the Earth Institute will meet Monday, Nov. 19, to discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, at a forum in the Low Memorial Library Rotunda. The event is open to the Columbia community; but anyone will be able to watch the 4 p.m. event in a live webcast.

Columbia faculty from the Earth Institute, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and other schools and centers across the university have provided a key source of insight to the media, general public and policy-makers about the related issues of climate change and sustainable development in the face of rising sea levels around the globe (see media links further down in this blog post). For instance, on Sunday, Nov. 18, PBS’s NOVA program ran “Inside the Megastorm,” the first major documentary on the storm, featuring Earth Institute experts. It can be viewed on the web , and runs again on TV Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Among the speakers on Monday will be:

• George Deodatis, professor of civil engineering, Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science
• Ben Orlove, associate director, Climate and Society MA program, the Earth Institute; professor, School of International and Public Affairs
• Irwin Redlener, director, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Mailman School of Public Health
• Cynthia Rosenzweig, co-chair, New York City Panel on Climate Change; senior research scientist, NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the Earth Institute
• Adam Sobel, professor, Dept. of Applied Physics and Math, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
• Moderator: William Glasgall, managing editor, states and municipalities, Bloomberg News

This university-wide conversation is co-sponsored by The Earth Institute, Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and World Leaders Forum.

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Nov. 12: The storm has passed, but it has stirred up a fresh debate, perhaps long overdue, about climate change, and it has a lot of people rethinking what they know, or think they know.

Will we act on climate change, and what should we do?

For an interview on the CBS News’ Sunday Morning, David Pogue of the New York Times distilled the issue down to three basic questions for a piece titled, “The Scientific Truth about Climate Change” :

• Is there climate change?
• Are WE causing it?
• And if so, is there anything we can do about it?

Pogue may be well behind most of the scientists at the Earth Institute, but given how little attention the issue got in the presidential campaign, not to mention in the general media over the past few years, many folks are now coming to the conversation with these kinds of questions.

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientist John Mutter was among those interviewed by Pogue – all of whom answered strongly in the affirmative to all three questions.

Over at Scientific American, NASA-Goddard Institute scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig got to talk about one of her favorite subjects, cities and climate. The question and answer on Nov. 9, “How to Improve Coastal Cities Climate Resilience,” was conducted by David Biello, who writes about energy and sustainability. Rosenzweig also works at the Center for Climate Systems Research.

“Virtually everything that happened [after Sandy] had been highlighted in our reports,” Rosenzweig said. “What we’re doing now is going over the science of Hurricane Sandy and identifying the scientific work that needs to be done. One [task] is this key issue of redefining the one-in-100-year storm.”

But does Sandy change the climate change conversation? She told SciAm: “Is this a tipping point? I think it is, in terms of response. I don’t think in six months people are going to say ‘Hurricane Sandy, what was that?’ Certainly not in the New York metropolitan region.”

Here are two other recent interviews by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists:

Climate Science and Sandy WNYC Brian Lehrer – Nov 15, 2012 Discussion with Radley Horton and Ben Orlove

Despite Risk, Many Can’t Resist Living by the Water NPR Talk of the Nation – Nov 12, 2012 Interview with Klaus Jacob

The Weather: Going to Extremes NBC Nightly News – Nov 12, 2012 Interview with Adam Sobel —–

Nov. 8: A nor’easter coming on top of Superstorm Sandy? Enough already! But, of course, it just underscores the vulnerability of New York, and other coastal regions, to bad weather. And, the need to better prepare for the worst.

In Scientific American Wednesday, Klaus Jacob of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory talks about “How to Survive the Next Big Storm.” For the NOAA Climate.gov site, Brian Kahn talked to Cynthia Rosenzweig about sea level rise, Sandy and how it all tied together — and what we should expect in the future for the New York region. Rosenzweig, a climate scientist with the NASA-Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Center for Climate Systems Research, worked on a report in 2001 called the “Metropolitan East Coast Report: Climate Change and a Global City,” which identified key vulnerabilities – including flooding of the tunnels and subways, damage to energy infrastructure and inundation of coastal communities.

Some other Earth Institute connections on the media in recent days:

Sea Walls NPR On Point – Nov 8, 2012 Interview with Radley Horton, Center for Climate Systems Research

Climate Change Scientist Was Right About Subway Flooding, Hurricane Damage WNYC – Nov 5, 2012 Posting of and commentary on Earth Institute video interview with Klaus Jacob

Hurricane Sandy: What Went Wrong MSNBC – Nov 3, 2012 Panel discussion with Klaus Jacob, NJ Gov. Chris Christie and others

Sandy Recovery: Walls Won’t Stop Superstorms Salon – Nov 6, 2012 Features Klaus Jacob and James Hansen (NASA-Goddard Institute for Space Studies)

Hurricane Sandy Blows Climate Change Back on the Table Christian Science Monitor – Nov 6, 2012 Quotes Radley Horton of the Center for Climate Systems Research

Sandy May Have Long-Term Effects on Public Health ClimateWire – Nov 6, 2012 Quotes Radley Horton

Extremely Bad Weather Science News – Nov 2, 2012 Quotes Richard Seager, Lamont-Doherty

Hurricane Sandy: Is Climate Change to Blame? The Week – Oct 31, 2012 Quotes Adam Sobel, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Nov. 5: Cold is setting in, making life all the more miserable for those in New Jersey and the many New York neighborhoods who have lost their homes or remain without power and other services. The city’s schools are trying to recover, too, shifting from refugee centers back to classrooms.

While the region continues its struggle to come back, many are starting to reflect on the lessons learned and how we can better prepare for the next hit from Mother Nature. From his flooded-out home north of the city, Earth Institute scientist Klaus Jacob spoke to NPR’s “Living on Earth” program about the effects of climate change on New York City.

Earth Institute Director Jeffrey D. Sachs, talked to Tom Keene and Scarlet Fu on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance” program about Sandy, climate change and the presidential election that comes to a head tomorrow. “It’s a sign of how weird our politics are that climate wasn’t an issue in this election,” Sachs said.

Institute Executive Director Steve Cohen’s parents and two sisters live in Long Beach, New York, and he was out there Saturday to check on them, and on his own summer home.

“I was impressed by the spirit of my neighbors and the visible presence of government everywhere,” he writes on the Huffington Post website . “I saw a policeman give a box of MREs (meals ready to eat) to an elderly woman and then patiently explain to her how to prepare the meal for use. … I saw teenagers walking down the street distributing bottled water from a red wagon to anyone who needed it. While Long Beach had temporarily lost electricity, water and sewage, it had not lost its soul and spirit.”

A couple of other media pieces featuring Earth Institute people:

Adapt or Die Foreign Policy – Nov 2, 2012 Quotes John Mutter, Lamont-Doherty Earth Institute

Protecting New York City After Sandy CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) – Nov 2, 2012 Interview with Earth Institute scientist Radley Horton, Center for Climate Systems Research

And in case you missed it, Horton was on the latest edition of NPR’s Science Friday: As Storm Recovery Continues, Looking to the Future NPR Science Friday – Nov 2, 2012

Nov. 2: The “superstorm” has passed leaving us all wondering what’s ahead. Cold wind and dark clouds, plus a hint of a possible nor’easter coming next week have enhanced the mood, post-Sandy.

Will this happen again, and how can cities like New York better prepare? How much will it cost to recover from the storm, and what sort of bills lie ahead as we try to figure out how to shore up neighborhoods, subways and all the other infrastructure?

Reports and studies have been imagining events like Sandy for years now; so why were so few people ready to listen? And will this lead to a serious conversation about climate change in the halls of power?

Again, Earth Institute scientists have been roaming the airwaves and news pages, talking about the storm, its aftermath, and the work ahead.

Tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 8, Klaus Jacob of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory will join other guests on UP with Chris Hayes on MSNBC , for a discussion of Hurricane Sandy, disaster preparedness and the politics of global warming.

On Sunday at 8 p.m., the Weather Channel’s scheduled special documentary, “Sandy — Anatomy of a Superstorm,” features Lamont-Doherty’s Adam Sobel.

Radley Horton, an expert on extreme weather and urban infrastructure, has helped New York assess how it might cope with climate change; he spoke to Ira Flatow on NPR’s Science Friday , along with Andrew Revkin, the New York Times’ Dot Earth reporter and blogger; New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert; and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy. The topic: The city’s vulnerabilities, and how to plan for future storms.

Some other appearances by Earth Institute experts:

Subway Flooding Predicted, Eerily Matches Climate Change Model NPR Transportation Nation, Nov. 1, 2012 Klaus Jacob quoted from earlier interview with Andrea Bernstein.

Fixing NYC’s Underground Power Grid Is No Easy Task NPR Morning Edition – Nov 2, 2012 Interview with Roger Anderson of Lamont-Doherty

Subway Flooding Prediction Eerily Matches Climate-Change Model NPR Marketplace – Nov 1, 2012 Interview with Klaus Jacob

Sandy Provides Wake-Up Call for Cities at Risk of Flooding NBC News – Nov 1, 2012 Interview with Cynthia Rosenzweig of the Center for Climate Systems Research

Subway Chaos and the Man Who Saw It Coming Business Week – Oct 31, 2012 Feature on scientist Klaus Jacob

Please Explain: Predicting the Weather WNYC Leonard Lopate – Nov 2, 2012 With Adam Sobel

Rising Sea Levels Are Serious New York Times, Room for Debate – Nov. 2, 2012 With Cynthia Rosenzweig

Nov. 1: The evening view from across the East River tells a tale of two cities: downtown Manhattan mostly shut down, without power, subways and most services; uptown Manhattan brightly lit, subways running, businesses and neighborhoods climbing back to some kind of usual.

In Brooklyn, families from relatively unscathed neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens gathered at PS 29 Thursday to donate food and supplies for the worse-off in flooded-out Red Hook. On the crowded morning commute across the bridges, with three people per vehicle now required, those with cars picked up strangers to come along for the ride. Stories like that pop up all around the boroughs: Two cities, coming together.

But the wake of Sandy is full of questions that will take awhile to answer, and that need attention from all of us:

• Why did so much infrastructure fail? The storm challenged the power grid, the systems for food, water, sanitation and transportation. Can we rebuild it smarter?
• Scores of people died, and hundreds of thousands were stranded in high-rises, or flooded and burned out of their homes. Is there a better way to build to protect people from such disasters?
• Is there a connection between Sandy’s wrath and climate change? Should we expect more such storms in the future? What can we do about that?
• How much will all this cost us?
• What will be the cultural and political impact of this superstorm? In particular, will it affect the election next Tuesday?

There’s plenty of conversation going on about all this already. On the Connecticut public radio show “Where We Live,” on WNPR, Earth Institute Executive Director Steve Cohen joined others talking about building more resilient cities .

On Democracy Now, Cynthia Rosenzweig of the Center for Climate Systems Research and the NASA-Goddard Institute for Space Studies talked about New York’s vulnerabilities to extreme weather events . She had a hand in two studies, one done a decade ago, that foretold some of what came to pass this week.

Earth Institute researcher Radley Horton spoke to Terry Gross on NPR radio’s “Fresh Air” about climate and the future after Sandy — what do rising sea level, warming oceans and disappearing Arctic sea ice have to do with it?

On the New York news site CapitalNewYork, reporter Dana Rubenstein spoke with Lamont-Doherty scientist Klaus Jacob and others for her piece, “There could be worse: What New York isn’t doing (yet) about the next storm.”

Here are more articles and broadcasts following up on the storm:

High-Def Storm Models Yielded Accurate Predictions NPR All Things Considered – Oct 31, 2012 Interview with Earth Institute professor Adam Sobel

3-D Maps Pictured Sandy’s Devastation—Five Years Ago Inside Climate News – Nov 1, 2012 Features Center for Climate Systems Research scientist Radley Horton

Hurricane Fatalities in New York Keep Mounting Capital New York – Nov. 1, 2012 Interview with Earth Institute professor John Mutter

Sandy Just Latest Example of Climate Change’s Threat Voice of Russia  – Oct 31, 2012 Interview with Ben Orlove (Center for Research on Environmental Decisions)

Experts: Civil Disorder Not Likely in Sandy’s Wake Asbury Park Press – Nov 1, 2012 Quotes Earth Institute professor John Mutter

Watching Sandy, Ignoring Climate Change The New Yorker – Oct 30, 2012 Quotes study from Goddard Institute for Space Studies

New York Was Warned About Hurricane Danger Six Years Ago Mother Jones – Oct 30, 2012 Quotes Ben Orlove (CRED) and study by Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Did Climate Change Cause Hurricane Sandy? Scientific American – Oct 30, 2012 Quotes James Hansen of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Oct. 31: Two days after Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to lower Manhattan and shut down the New York transit system, the city is struggling to recover. It’s hard to say yet how long that will take.

Klaus Jacob, a scientist with the Earth Institute, said the storm is a “wake-up call” for New York and other cities around the world to address aging infrastructure and better prepare for coastal flooding. The call comes in even louder if you consider the prospect of rising sea levels and more extreme weather events from global warming.

“We had one wake-up call last year under the name of Irene. We got away with less than we will most likely incur from Sandy,” Jacob said in an interview with the BBC . “The question is how many wake-up calls do we need to get out of our snoozing, sleeping, dreaming morning attitude? We have to get into action. We have to set priorities and spend money. For every one dollar invested in protection you get a return of four dollars of not incurred losses.”

Jacob is one of many Earth Institute experts talking to the media about storm preparedness and the atmospheric science behind this devastating storm. Jacob also spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the difficulties faced by crews working to get the subway system back in service (see “Salt Water Puts Subway in Jeopardy” ). And Adam Sobel, a professor of climate and atmospheric science, spoke on the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC .

Sobel also wrote a great explanation on ClimateCentral.org of how the weather systems that kicked up Sandy’s power converged on us.

Anthropologist Ben Orlove wrote for the CNN website about a survey he and colleagues are doing on how people perceive the threats from such storms — and how people can misunderstand the widespread potential for damage (as occurred last year in Vermont and upstate New York from Hurricane Irene).

If you’re into the science behind the storm, check out some other news coverage featuring Earth Institute experts.

New York Subways May Be Crippled for Extended Period Associated Press – Oct 31, 2012 Features Lamont-Doherty scientist Klaus Jacob

Sandy’s Storm Surge May Be Lesson for Big-City Infrastructure NBC News – Oct 30, 2012 Interviews with Radley Horton (CCSR) and Klaus Jacob (LDEO)

New York and New Jersey Cope With Catastrophe NY Channel 13 – Oct 30, 2012 Interview with Adam Sobel (LDEO) (13:12-18:52)

The Perfect Storm ABC 20/20- Oct 30, 2012 Interview with Adam Sobel  (LDEO)

Q&A, Hurricane Sandy Columbia  Engineering School – Oct 31, 2012 Interview with Adam Sobel (LDEO)

Why Hurricane Sandy Will Be Historic Time – Oct 29, 2012

We’d All Be Safe and Dry Now Slate – Oct 30, 2012

In Storm’s Wake, Climate Change Raises Stakes for New York CNN – Oct 29 2012

The Article That Predicted the New York Subway Storm Surge Problem The Atlantic

How Much Will Sandy Cost the US Economy? The Atlantic – Oct 29, 2012

Shallow Waters, Unusual Path May Worsen Storm Surge New York Times – Oct 29, 2012

Expert Warns of New York City Subway Flooding New York magazine – Oct. 29, 2012

Hurricane Sandy liveblog: Which way is Sandy headed? The latest ‘Frankenstorm’ track Christian Science Monitor – Oct 29, 2012

Report on Hurricane Sandy Sky News – Oct 29, 2012

Morningside prepares for Hurricane Sandy Columbia Spectator – Oct 28, 2012

**Sea Walls

NPR On Point – Nov 8, 2012

Interview with Radley Horton, CCSR

http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/11/08/sea-walls

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Celebrate over 50 years of Earth Day with us all month long! Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

It’s really sad to hear on the news that 50 people died…. I really didn’t think much of this storm, and obviously that was the wrong mind set. My own family is trapped in their city because all exits are flooded out. I hope their recovery is swift, and I really hope everyone gathers around to help.

[…] supply of legal services.  On the science front, our counterparts at the Columbia Earth Institute point to the questions Sandy poses for climate change, infrastructure management, and building design, some of which will likely […]

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Hurricane Sandy: A Crisis Analysis Case Study

Spontaneous, so-called emergent groups often arise in response to emergencies, disasters, and crises where citizens and relief workers find that pre-established norms of behavior, roles, and practices come into flux because of the severity and uncertainty of the situation. The scholarship on emergent groups dates to 1950s sociological theory on emergence and convergence, whereas contemporary research forms part of the wider disaster scholarship field. Emergent groups have been conceptualized and theorized from various angles, ranging from discussions around their effectiveness, to their possibilities as channels for the positive forces of citizen’s altruism, as well as to more skeptical accounts detailing the challenges emergent groups may pose for established emergency management organizations in relief situations. Scarce scholarly attention, however, is paid to the role of emergent groups when it comes to empowering marginalized and vulnerable communities. The few empirical studies that exist suggest linkages between active participation in emergent groups and empowerment of otherwise marginalized communities, as shown in an ethnographic study of the work of Occupy Sandy that emerged in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that struck New York City in 2012. Although more systematic research is warranted, such empirical examples show potential in terms of shifting emergency and disaster management toward more inclusionary, participatory, and empowering practices. As low-income communities, often of color, experience the increasingly harsh effects of climate change, important issues to ponder are inclusion, participation, and empowerment.

• Related Documents

A Longitudinal Study of Equity-Oriented STEM-Rich Making Among Youth From Historically Marginalized Communities

The maker movement has evoked interest for its role in breaking down barriers to STEM learning. However, few empirical studies document how youth are supported over time in STEM-rich making projects or their outcomes. This longitudinal critical ethnographic study traces the development of 41 youth maker projects in two community-centered making programs. Building a conceptual argument for an equity-oriented culture of making, the authors discuss the ways in which making with and in community opened opportunities for youth to project their communities’ rich culture knowledge and wisdom onto their making while also troubling and negotiating the historicized injustices they experience. The authors also discuss how community engagement legitimized a practice of co-making, which supported equity-oriented goals and outcomes.

The Devil Is in the Details: Linking Home Buyout Policy, Practice, and Experience After Hurricane Sandy

Federal housing recovery policy bounds many of the decisions made by households after a disaster. Within this policy domain, home buyout programs are increasingly used to encourage residents to permanently relocate out of areas considered at risk for future hazards. While buyouts offer homeowners and governments potential benefits, research exploring the impacts of these policies is limited. In this paper, we present an in-depth examination of the community experience of buyouts, a perspective that is noticeably lacking in the literature. Using data from two mixed-method empirical studies, we explored the implications of buyout program design and implementation for Oakwood Beach, New York, a community offered a buyout after Hurricane Sandy. We found that  design decisions made at program conception significantly impacted participants’ experience of the buyout, including their understanding of program goals and their progression through the buyout and relocation process. We conclude with recommendations for future buyouts, including increased inclusion of affected communities in the process of and pre-event planning for recovery, along with recommendations for future research.

Long-term Recovery From Hurricane Sandy: Evidence From a Survey in New York City

AbstractObjectivesThis study aimed to examine a range of factors influencing the long-term recovery of New York City residents affected by Hurricane Sandy.MethodsIn a series of logistic regressions, we analyzed data from a survey of New York City residents to assess self-reported recovery status from Hurricane Sandy.ResultsGeneral health, displacement from home, and household income had substantial influences on recovery. Individuals with excellent or fair health were more likely to have recovered than were individuals with poor health. Those with high and middle income were more likely to have recovered than were those with low income. Also, individuals who had not experienced a decrease in household income following Hurricane Sandy had higher odds of recovery than the odds for those with decreased income. Additionally, displacement from the home decreased the odds of recovery. Individuals who applied for assistance from the Build it Back program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had lower odds of recovering than did those who did not apply.ConclusionsThe study outlines the critical importance of health and socioeconomic factors in long-term disaster recovery and highlights the need for increased consideration of those factors in post-disaster interventions and recovery monitoring. More research is needed to assess the effectiveness of state and federal assistance programs, particularly among disadvantaged populations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:172–175)

A Community-Led Medical Response Effort in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy

AbstractOn October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn, New York. The massive tidal surge generated by the storm submerged the coastal area, home to a population over 11,000 individuals, including the largest public housing development in Brooklyn. The infrastructure devastation was profound: the storm rendered electricity, heat, water, Internet, and phone services inoperative, whereas local ambulatory medical services including clinics, pharmacies, home health agencies, and other resources were damaged beyond functionality. Lacking these services or lines of communication, medically fragile individuals became isolated from the hospital and 911-emergency systems without a preexisting mechanism to identify or treat them. Medically fragile individuals primarily included those with chronic medical conditions dependent on frequent and consistent monitoring and treatments. In response, the Red Hook community established an ad hoc volunteer medical relief effort in the wake of the storm, filling a major gap that continues to exist in disaster medicine for low-income urban environments. Here we describe this effort, including an analysis of the medically vulnerable in this community, and recommend disaster risk reduction strategies and resilience measures for future disaster events. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:354–358)

How Low-Income Mothers Seek Quality Health Care for Their Children: An Ethnographic Study

The work of the Welfare Warriors Research Collaborative (WWRC), a participatory action research (PAR) project that looks at how low income lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming (LG-BTGNC) people survive and resist violence and discrimination in New York City, raises the question of what it means to make conscientization, or critical consciousness, a core feature of PAR. Guishard's (2009) reconceptualization of conscientization as “moments of consciousness” provides a new way of looking at what seemed to be missing from WWRC's process and analysis. According to Guishard, rather than a singular awakening, critical consciousness emerges continually through interactions with others and the social context. Analysis of the WWRC's process demonstrates that PAR researchers doing “PAR deep” (Fine, 2008)—research in which community members share in all aspects of design, method, analysis and product development—should have an agenda for developing critical consciousness, just as they would have agendas for participation, for action, and for research.

Cross-space Consumption among Undocumented Chinese Immigrants in the United States

We consider cross-space consumption as a form of transnational practice among international migrants. In this paper, we develop the idea of the social value of consumption and use it to explain this particular form of transnationalism. We consider the act of consumption to have not only functional value that satisfies material needs but also a set of nonfunctional values, social value included, that confer symbolic meanings and social status. We argue that cross-space consumption enables international migrants to take advantage of differences in economic development, currency exchange rates, and social structures between countries of destination and origin to maximize their expression of social status and to perform or regain social status. Drawing on a multisited ethnographic study of consumption patterns in migrant hometowns in Fuzhou, China, and in-depth interviews with undocumented Chinese immigrants in New York and their left-behind family members, we find that, despite the vulnerabilities and precarious circumstances associated with the lack of citizenship rights in the host society, undocumented immigrants manage to realize the social value of consumption across national borders and do so through conspicuous consumption, reciprocal consumption, and vicarious consumption in their hometowns even without being physically present there. We conclude that, while cross-space consumption benefits individual migrants, left-behind families, and their hometowns, it serves to revive tradition in ways that fuel extravagant rituals, drive up costs of living, reinforce existing social inequality, and create pressure for continual emigration.

EAARL-B coastal topography: Fire Island, New York, pre-Hurricane Sandy, 2012: seamless (bare earth and submerged)

Seeing and hearing: the impacts of new york cityys universal prekindergarten program on the health of low-income children, extreme storm surges and waves and vulnerability of coastal bridges in new york city metropolitan region: an assessment based on hurricane sandy, export citation format, share document.

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6 Months Report: Superstorm Sandy from Pre-Disaster to Recovery

Timeline, milestones in response and recovery, before-and-after photos and videos plus data on disaster assistance, debris removal and other aspects of disaster operations.

Oct. 22    Tropical Storm Sandy forms.

Oct. 24    Storm strengthens to Category 1 Hurricane.

Oct. 27    Sandy weakens to Tropical Storm.

Oct. 28     Re-intensifies to Category 1 Hurricane.

Oct. 28     The President declares an emergency for the state of New Jersey.

Oct. 29     Sandy briefly strengthens to Category 2 hurricane. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 5, twenty-four states from Florida to Maine and as far west as Michigan and Wisconsin are impacted.

Oct. 29     Sandy makes landfall as a tropical storm near Brigantine, New Jersey.

• New Jersey and New York take the brunt of Sandy’s assault.
• There are 2.7 million power outages in New Jersey alone.
• There is widespread damage to the transportation infrastructure.
• Phone, cable and other communication lines are disrupted.
• Operations at  2 oil refineries, 11 petroleum terminals and 2 petroleum pipelines are disrupted.
• 8.5 million cubic yards of mixed debris which includes 2.5 million cubic yards of sand and silt deposited on road and waterways, impeding travel.
• Houses along miles of New Jersey coastline are severely damaged or destroyed by wind and flooding.
• More than 37,000 primary residences and approximately 9,300 rental units receive major damage.
• Businesses in 113 of 565 New Jersey municipalities experience a combined $382 million in commercial property loss.
• Natural gas supply lines on barrier islands are completely destroyed, sustaining an estimated $97 million in damage.
• Within days, mold becomes a problem in unoccupied houses without electricity, creating a health hazard.
• 2 FEMA National Incident Management Assistant Teams (IMAT) and 1 regional IMAT team report to the disaster pre-landfall.
• 14 Emergency Support Functions, Federal Disaster Response Coordination activated.
• 16 FEMA Mobile Communications Office Vehicles are deployed.
• Mobile Emergency Response Support sends 34 personnel and vehicles.
• 650 personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers respond to the disaster to conduct draining of sewage treatment facilities, mobilization of 100 strike teams for debris clearance, transport and installation of generators. Team receives 335 requests for generators; 106 are installed at the peak of the emergency.
• On Nov. 1, 2012, in the immediate response to the New Jersey disaster, FEMA’s Community Relations specialists start circulating through storm-ravaged neighborhoods to offer assistance and informational materials in nine languages. On Nov. 5, 432 specialists and 222 FEMA Corps members are in some of the most heavily impacted areas of the state.
• Debris clearance crews remove debris from roadways and make repairs to restore power to traffic signals.
• 520 personnel assist with tree removal, clearing 728 miles of roads and access routes.
• 113 emergency shelters open, serving 6,477 storm survivors at the peak of the disaster.

RESPONSE AND RECOVERY

As of April 23, 2013:

• Total federal allocations for Superstorm Sandy Response and Recovery in New Jersey: 

$1.1 billion

• Total amount approved for Housing and Other Needs Assistance: $388 million
• Total Federal Share Obligated for Public Assistance: $262.9 million

Housing Assistance:

• FEMA has approved more than $334 million in housing assistance grants to help repair or replace housing damaged or destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, with an average housing assistance award of $6,088 per applicant.
• FEMA issued a mission assignment through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct/renovate 114 temporary housing units at Fort Monmouth, a former military base, at an estimated cost of $3.3 million.

Individual Assistance:

• 89,025 New Jersey residents have visited FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers.
• More than 60,500 registrations have been approved for assistance.
• More than 480 volunteer agencies were active in the disaster recovery effort, reporting a total of 866,400 volunteer hours which equaled nearly $24 million in work value.
• 14 Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster are now working on long-term recovery projects in New Jersey, including the American Red Cross, the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and Church World Service.

Other Needs Assistance:

• FEMA approved more than $53.4 million dollars in Other Needs Assistance to 18,433 Sandy survivors.

Transitional Sheltering Assistance:

• FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program has provided transitional shelter to more

            than 5,500 Sandy Survivors.

• FEMA has provided a total of 195,000 room nights in 435 hotels and motels at a cost of more than $23 million, while displaced survivors developed permanent housing solutions.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance

• 3,365 applications for disaster unemployment assistance were approved.
• More than $4 million in disaster unemployment assistance has been provided to Sandy survivors who became unemployed as a result of the storm.

Public Assistance:

• 1,707 requests for Public Assistance were received from the public sector and private nonprofit organizations.  
• FEMA and the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management held 1,420 kickoff meetings with eligible applicants. A kickoff meeting includes a one-on-one session that establishes the partnership among FEMA, the state and the applicant.
• More than $262.9 million in federal share dollars has been obligated to the state of New Jersey primarily for Category A (debris removal) and Category B (emergency protective measures) assistance.
• Ninety-nine percent of Right-of-Way debris totaling more than 8.5 million cubic yards has been removed, with the remaining 1 percent slated for removal by early May.
• Out of 2,879 Subgrant applications, 2,051 have been obligated so far. Eligible subgrantees include state and local governments and private nonprofits such as medical, educational, utility, emergency and custodial care facilities that apply to the state for reimbursement of eligible disaster related expenditures.
• FEMA has assisted applicants with 84 projects totaling $79 million for boardwalk and beach repair including boardwalks, emergency protective measures, marinas, bulkheads and sea walls.
• A few projects currently under construction expected to be open to the public by Memorial Day include:
• $19 million for the Atlantic Highlands harbor reconstruction of the marina
• $12 million for reconstruction of the Belmar boardwalk, and
• $7.6 million for the reconstruction of the Seaside Heights boardwalk.

Operations:

• FEMA Operations has activated 430 Mission Assignments in support of the State in response to Superstorm Sandy and obligated $100 million in direct federal assistance and $40 million in federal operating support and technical assistance.

Mitigation:

• Disaster Recovery Centers counseled 23,465 applicants on Mitigation techniques.
• Mitigation conducted outreach in 28 building supply stores along the coastal area.
• Mitigation technical assistance was provided to 406 Federal, State and local stakeholders to identify mitigation opportunities with 1,300 site visits completed to date.
• New Jersey property owners have received $3.2 billion in National Flood Insurance Program payments for damages caused by flooding from Superstorm Sandy.

FEMA Corps:

• In addition to extensive work with Community Relations in the recovery, thirteen FEMA Corps teams with 114 members currently are working at the New Jersey JFO.  
• Most Corps Members are working in a Public Assistance capacity. Other Corps Members are working at the JFO in External Affairs, Logistics, Planning, Individual Assistance and Federal Disaster Recovery Coordination.

External Affairs :

• In addition to the massive neighborhood-by-neighborhood outreach effort in response to Superstorm Sandy, FEMA’s CR specialists have contacted more than 100,000 individuals, 25,000 businesses and 10,000 Faith and Community-based organizations.
• Private Sector specialists have engaged with 555 Private Sector stakeholders, disseminating electronic disaster assistance information to 5.8 million New Jerseyans, focusing on business continuity and preparedness. The New Jersey Business and Industry Association disseminated FEMA information via utility bills to more than 21,000 members and 1.3 million employees.
• FEMA’s Intergovernmental Affairs specialists have connected with more than 900 community leaders, handled 215 questions and referrals from mayors and other city officials, has assisted the governor’s staff in establishing a state IGA department and has worked closely with public officials on key issues such as Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps, NFIP, Repetitive Loss Inspections and other community concerns.
• Congressional Affairs staff continues outreach activity to the New Jersey Congressional delegation and has responded to more than 775 inquiries regarding constituent issues related to Superstorm Sandy.                                 
• Planning and Products section has produced more than 500 individual communications including 140 news releases, 70 public service announcements, 10 recovery bulletins, 12 flyers, 5 brochures and 40 Congressional updates. FEMA Speakers Bureau has hosted 229 community events reaching 33,227 individuals with recovery information.
• The Joint Information Center has fielded more than 9,000 media inquiries and currently averages about 28 media interviews per week. The NJ FEMA twitter handle has 3, 237 followers, has produced 780 tweets, and averages six tweets and seven re-tweets per tweet.

Small Business Administration

• SBA has approved more than $731 million in low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters and businesses. 
• $606 million of that figure was loaned to residential applicants.

Then and Now

This Mantoloking home was knocked off its foundation by Superstorm Sandy. The homeowners chose to elevate their home to mitigate against future disasters.

In Seaside Heights, the historic boardwalk was severely damaged and debris lined the beach after Superstorm Sandy. While the iconic roller coaster remains until a contractor can remove it, the boardwalk is being rebuilt and debris has been removed from the beach.

Superstorm Sandy left debris strewn across this area in Beach Haven Inlet. Six month later, the area is largely free of debris.

After Superstorm Sandy, the south end of the bridge in Avon by the Sea was closed. Now, the bridge is open and structures have returned to normal.

The Lifeguard Station in Sandy Hook was surrounded by piles of sand after Superstorm Sandy. These piles of sand have been removed and relocated six months later.

After Superstorm Sandy, the lawn of a Sea Bright home was completely covered in debris. With the help of FEMA in collaboration with state and local partners, homes like this one have had debris removed from their yards.

 Videos

Impact and Management of Hurricane Sandy

October 2012

The Caribbean (hitting Jamaica, Cuba and Bermuda) and the USA (affecting 24 states)

• Damage in the US estimated at over $63 billion
• Vulnerable Coastline due to:
• Coast from Delaware to Rhode Island is densely populated
• Large areas of expensive coastal property very close to sea level
• Many recreational and tourist resorts with beach front infrastructure such as hotels and amusement parks
• Numerous barrier islands which are unstable, prone to storm surges and wave erosion, and hard to evacuate during rescue phase
• Widespread disruption of transport and utilities in Jamaica.
• Haiti badly affected by flooding and landslides.
• 20,000 airline flights cancelled over the period October 27th-November 1st, 8.6 million power outages. Nearly 600,000 businesses and homes were destroyed.
• At least 286 people were killed either directly or indirectly by Sandy. There were 147 direct deaths: 72 in the USA and the rest mainly in Caribbean, including 54 in Haiti and 11 in Cuba.
• In the USA of the 87 indirect deaths from Sandy, at least 50 were attributable to either falls by the elderly, carbon monoxide poisoning from inadequately ventilated generators and cooking equipment, or hypothermia as a cold snap followed Sandy and extended power outages left people without heating.

Management and Response

Preparations

Caribbean and Bermuda

• October 22nd issued a tropical storm watch
• October 23rd upgraded to a Tropical storm warning
• Many residents stocked up on supplies and reinforced roofing material
• People were urged to take care of their neighbours, especially the elderly, children and disabled
• Schools, government buildings and the airport in Kingston shut down
• Early curfews were put in place to protect residents, properties and to prevent crime

United States

• East Coast attempted to head off long-term power failures by being prepared to repair storm damage and employees working longer hours
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) monitored Sandy
• Flight cancellations put in place
• National Guard and U.S Air Force put as many as 45,000 personnel in at least seven states on alert for possible duty in response to the preparations and aftermath of Sandy
• Florida - Closure and cancellations of activities in schools
• Carolinas - Tropical storm watch was issued. National park service closed at least 5 sections
• Washington, D.C - October 26th declared state of emergency. Metro service, both rail and bus was cancelled on October 29ths due to expected high winds
• Maryland - State of emergency announced October 26th, Residents were evacuated with the assistance of the Maryland Natural Resources Police, 2 shelters were opened. Maryland Transit Administration cancelled all services for October 29th and 30th.