SNOW TSUNAMI SPARES NORTHEASTERN USA (The People Did Their Part and Divine Providence Did all the Rest)

JANUARY 26- 27, 2015

NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED

DISASTERS IN NORTHEASTERN USA

FLOODS

HURRICANES

EARTHQUAKES

NOR’EASTERS

WINTER STORMS

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

LOW PROBABILITY OF

OCCURRENCE--HIGH

PROBABILITY OF A

DISASTER

AT RISK: MILLIONS OF

PEOPLE/COMMUNITIES

NOR’EASTER WINTER

STORM: JAN. 26, 2015

MONDAY:

THE EXPECTATION

All of the SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

associated with a record storm with

heavy snow, intense winds, cold, and

coastal flooding

WHAT THE PEOPLE DID

• On Monday (Jan 26th), life abruptly

stopped across the Northeastern USA

region as state officials declared a state

of emergency and ordered workers to

go home early, banned travel, closed

bridges and tunnels, mass transit,

schools, and assembled their biggest

snow plowing crews.

WHAT THE PEOPLE DID

• Coastal residents braced for a powerful

storm surge and the possibility of

damaging flooding and beach erosion,

particularly on Cape Cod.

WHAT THE PEOPLE DID

• Power companies activated inter-state

agreements and prepared for the

possibility of widespread power

outages.

WHAT THE PEOPLE DID

• Airlines cancelled nearly 8,000 flights

and prepared contingency plans.

WHAT THE PEOPLE DID

• Schools and businesses let out early.

Government offices closed.

• Shoppers stocking up on food jammed

supermarkets and competing with one

another for what was left.

• Broadway stages went dark.

TUESDAY MORNING:

WHAT HAPPENED

The huge storm moved up the Atlantic

coast as predicted, but its impacts

were not as bad as anticipated,

except in Massachusetts

TUESDAY MORNING IN NEW

YORK • The city had an almost eerie quietness

with almost no one on the streets and

only a few municipal trucks rumbling

down empty streets.

• No airplanes were in the sky.

• Wind was more of a problem than the

light snow that fell steadily early

Tuesday in midtown Manhattan.

NEW YORK

• Travel bans were lifted before

midmorning in New York.

• New York City buses, subways and

trains were expected to restart later in

the morning and a return to a full

schedule was expected Wednesday.

NEW YORK THRUWAY

• A 60-mile stretch of the New York

Thruway, located in sections of New

York that were forecast to see from 10

to 20 inches of snow, was reopened

after being shut down for about nine

hours.

NEW YORK WALL STREET

• On Wall Street, the New York Stock

Exchange said it would operate

normally Tuesday.

NEW YORK UTILITIES

• Through midmorning, utility companies

across the region reported minimal

power outages.

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

• Long Island was hit the hardest, with

snow falling 2 inches per hour creating

hazardous conditions.

• Islip had 14.7 inches of snow by early

Tuesday.

MASSACHUSETTS:

STILLEXPECTING RECORD SNOW

• Early Tuesday, Massachusetts was still

being pounded by snow and lashed by

strong winds after bands of heavy

snow left some towns including

Sandwich on Cape Cod and Oxford in

central Massachusetts reporting more

than 18 inches (45 cm) of snow.

• At least 60 cm of snow is still expected.

MASSACHUSETS: HIGH

WINDS• The National Weather Service says a

wind gust of 130 kph (78 mph) was

reported on Nantucket, and a 120 kph

(72 mph) gust was reported in

Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard.

AT PRESENT, ONE DEATH

REPORTED

REMEMBERING A NOTABLE

NATURAL DISASTER IN THE

NORTHEASTERN USA IN 2012

SUPER STORM SANDY

SANDY

FROM AN ORDINARY TROPICAL

STORM TO A HISTORIC “SUPER

STORM” IN EIGHT DAYS

AT 8:00 PM ON OCTOBER 29, SANDY

BECAME THE MOST DEVASTATING CAT

1 HURRICANE TO HIT THE EASTERN

USA IN RECORDED HISTORY

(PRESSURE– 940 Mb)

CAT 1 HURRICANE SANDY MADE

LANDFALL AT 8:00 PM ON

MONDAY NIGHT, OCT. 29TH

Sandy made landfall south of Atlantic City,

New Jersey, merging with a winter storm

system to become a unique, once-in-a-

century, “Super Storm” caused by nature’s

natural cycles, NOT global warming

FIFTY DEATHS ALONG

EASTERN SEABOARD

(as of Oct. 30)

Preliminary Loss Estimate:

$50 Billion

AN ORDINARY TROPICAL

STORM ON OCTOBER 22

ENROUTE TO A SUPER STORM IN

NEW JERSEY: 8:00 PM, OCT. 29

SUPER STORM SANDY:

OCT. 29-30, 2012

FLOODING IN BROOKLYN

NY HOSPITALS IMPACTED

FLOODING, POWER OUTAGES,

AND AN EMERGENCY EVACUATION

LIMIT SERVICES

NEW YORK CITY ON LOCK

DOWN

ROADS CLOSED

TUNNELS CLOSED

SUBWAY, TRAINS, AND AIRPORTS CLOSED

WIDE-SPREAD POWER OUTAGES

HIGH VOLUME OF 911 CALLS THAT CAN’T BE

ANSWERED EFFICIENTLY

STOCK EXCHANGES CLOSED

SCHOOLS CLOSED

WATER AND FIRE

SIMULTANEOUSLY IN

QUEENS, NY

Fire fighters unable to cope

with flooding and fire as 80

houses burn to ground

OCT. 29: FLOODED STREETS

IN QUEENS

OCT. 29: FIRE IN QUEENS

NEW JERSEY: ATLANTIC

CITY UNDER WATER

NEW JERSEY: OCEAN

FRONT FLOODING

NEW JERSEY: STREET

FLOODING

LESSONS LEARNED

Disasters are caused by

single- or multiple-event

natural hazards that, (for

various reasons), cause

extreme levels of mortality,

morbidity, homelessness,

joblessness, economic losses,

or environmental impacts.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• When it does happen, the

functions of the community’s

buildings and infrastructure will be

LOST because they are

UNPROTECTED with the

appropriate codes and standards.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is UN-

PREPARED for what will likely

happen, not to mention the

low-probability of occurrence—

high-probability of adverse

consequences event.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community has NO DISASTER

PLANNING SCENARIO or

WARNING SYSTEM in place as a

strategic framework for early threat

identification and coordinated

local, national, regional, and

international countermeasures.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community LACKS THE

CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a

timely and effective manner to

the full spectrum of expected

and unexpected emergency

situations.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is INEFFICIENT

during recovery and

reconstruction because it HAS

NOT LEARNED from either the

current experience or the

cumulative prior experiences.

THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE: 1) KNOW THE HISTORY OF PAST

DISASTERS

2) BE PREPARED

3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM

4) EVACUATE

5) LEARN FROM THE

EXPERIENCE