New York City in the midst of Superstorm Sandy.Image: Flickr, David Shankbone
But instead of waiting for the worst to happen, architects, urban
planners and engineers around the world are designing and maintaining
systems to handle one of climate change's most destructive byproducts:
rising sea levels.
Here are five ways cities are getting ready to fight back flooding,
even when a solution to its root problem isn't on the horizon.
1. New York's $1 billion flood prevention plan
Superstorm Sandy left the city covered in flood water and half of Manhattan without power. Image: Flickr, Chris Ford
New
York dealt with costly and destructive flooding after Hurricane Sandy
hit the Atlantic northeast. Now, work will begin on several
anti-flooding projects that recently received a combined $1 billion in
funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The most ambitious and expensive project is a $332 million U-shaped berm
that will hug the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The berm will shield 10
miles of coastline with not only an isolated flood zone, but with a
slew of recreational areas lush with salt-resistant vegetation.
Other projects include a $66 million living breakwater along Staten Island's South Shore, and a $125 million flood prevention plan for Southern Nassau County.
2. Rotterdam's massive floodgates
Image: Flickr, Chriszwolle
The
Port of Rotterdam is a linchpin of the European economy, thanks to its
accessibility, proximity to the North Sea and sheer size. That said,
it's also in danger of flooding as sea levels rise, due in part to the
Netherlands' low altitude.
Flooding in the Netherlands has been a problem for a long time, so
after one particularly bad flood in 1953, the country started its Delta
Works program in 1958. Over the past 56 years, the country's been
building up a series of dams, dikes and drains to curb flooding, but the
Rotterdam floodgates, called the Maeslantkering, might be the most
impressive part of the Delta Works program.
Construction of the gates — each 72 feet wide and 688 feet long — ran
from 1991 to 1999, and automatically open and close to allow ships to
pass through. When closed, the gates protect Rotterdam from storm surges
and flooding, and are even a popular tourist destination.
3. Da Nang's flood-resistant housing program
Image: AFP/Getty Images Stringer
Da
Nang, Vietnam, is a critical port city sitting right in the middle of
the country. While Da Nang has little issue bringing goods in, the
coastal areas around the city have trouble keeping water out, especially
after major storms.
Even worse, many of the homes are too poorly built to withstand flood
waters, which often linger because of poor drainage in the most
susceptible areas.
That's why the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition is
partnering with the Rockefeller Foundation's Climate Change Coordination
office to give Da Nang's residents the resources to build stronger,
flood-resistant homes.
The program offers lines of credit and loans for poorer families in
Da Nang to renovate their homes to withstand flooding, or build homes
that will. The program also created a revolving loan fund for small
businesses to improve credit worthiness.
The effort began in October 2011 and is slated to finish in September
2014. By the time it's complete, the Rockefeller Foundation expects to
reinforce or reconstruct 376 homes in Da Nang.
4. Surat's flood warning system
Image: Getty The India Today Group
As
the eight most populated city in the world and home to 90% of the
world's diamond cutting, Surat is a major player in the global economy.
However, the Indian coastal city constantly battles floods, and when
these floods necessitate an emergency release from Ukai dam, they can
inundate up to 75% of the city.
To make matters worse, infrastructure built along the sides of the
dam — which holds back the Tapi River — has made safe discharge of water
more difficult and the mouth of the river narrower. This becomes more
dangerous as sea levels rise.
In December 2010, TARU Leading Edge,
a consulting firm the specializes in scientific solutions to societal
problems, partnered with Surat Municipal Corporation Narmada Water to
develop a flood warning system. The end-to-end system was completed in
March 2013, and integrates historical models with real-time tracking of
weather and precipitation conditions to coordinate action among
different municipal agencies.
The system also tests projected effects of climate change and sea
level rise to prepare for what flooding disasters could be coming down
the pipe.
5. Semarang's flood forecasting system
Image: Flickr, Kevin Murray
Like its sister city
Da Nang, Semarang is another southeast Asian port city with a major
flooding problem. The capital of Indonesia's Central Java province,
Semarang fights a host of other climate- and weather-related dangers
like drought and coastal erosion, and doesn't have adequate draining to
handle it all.
With rising sea levels projected to put 50% more of Semarang's homes
in flood-prone areas by 2050, a city developmental planning and
environmental projection board is partnering with international
development organization Mercy Corps to create a flood forecasting system.
The Semarang system focuses on figuring out which prevention and
response strategies work best, which areas of the city are in the most
danger, where flood shelters can be built and how to create an effective
forecasting model that brings all of these efforts together.
The development process began in January 2012 and is expected to be done sometime in December of this year.
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