University of Hawaii Comes to Aid of
Hurricane Sandy Victims
From: Roger Greenway, ENN.com
Hurricane Sandy caused
more damage than many people who are not living in the Staten Island and Jersey
Shore areas are aware of. It will take a long time to recover and help is still
needed. The University of Hawaii may take the title of the helpers who traveled
the greatest distance to help. Their mission was two-fold, to help recovery
efforts, and to learn what more might be done to reduce damages from future hurricanes
and superstorms like Sandy.
Sandy, the most devastating storm to hit the northeastern U.S. coast in
decades, struck on November 29. The team assessed and documented damage and met
with community leaders, emergency responders, hazard planners and those
involved in relief and recovery efforts. Coastal storm surge, flooding and
infrastructure failure were the main causes and consequences of Sandy's impact.
Team efforts were led by
Urban Planning Professor Karl Kim, PhD, who is NDPTC’s executive director;
along with Dennis Hwang, of Sea Grant, and a coastal geologist and land use
attorney; and Dean Sakamoto, FAIA, of the Urban Resilience Lab, an architect
and lead developer of NDPTC’s HURRIPLAN, a new training course on hurricane resilient
planning and design.
Said Kim, "Some
areas such as Staten Island, the Rockaways and in New Jersey experienced
massive devastation and will require much effort to recover. We must do a
better job planning and building disaster resilient communities. It shows us
that no place is immune from the forces of nature."
Most of the damage in
New York and New Jersey resulted from flooding. Hwang was particularly focused
on coastal processes in the region, considering the effects of storm surge as
well as inland flooding from canals and other bodies of water. He noted,
"The storm surge in lower Manhattan was nearly 14 feet and many basements
and ground floor units were flooded, taking out furnaces, electrical systems,
and caused heat oil spills. This was particularly problematic in high-rise
buildings, which lost elevator services, stranding many elderly and handicapped
people.
Even in areas with only 1 to 2 feet of flooding above grade, there were
serious problems because the structures were not designed for flooding, having
lower floors below the ground elevation or basements where the water would pour
into and rapidly collect, threatening lives and causing great damage to
homeowners and businesses." Hwang served as the team's photographer and
captured an extensive archive of original images of Sandy damaged sites.
Said architect Sakamoto,
"There are critical lessons that Sandy has taught us. These lessons need
further study and be synthesized and promulgated in hurricane-prone
communities. Sandy's recovery also presents opportunities to design more
sustainable, safer, stronger and aesthetically coherent buildings and
communities."
Establishing design flood elevations and implementing proper
flood proofing techniques are necessary. The team visited the new Sims Metal
Management recycling facility, which is under construction on the Brooklyn
waterfront. The Sims facility is a good example of mitigation and adaptation
involving elevating structures above the base flood elevation and did not
suffer damage due to Sandy.