Hurricane Sandy

[25Hz]

Some info in rebuilding efforts to mitigate future storm impacts:

http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/what-is- ... by-design/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ThirdRail7]

The article contains the 26 page report.


Review of NJ Transit's response to Sandy finds need for more coordination, places to shelter trains
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/1 ... _trai.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A long-awaited independent review of NJ Transit's performance during Hurricane Sandy has found a glaring need for better coordination and more places to store trains in the event of another monster storm.

Officials with the statewide transportation provider made the ill-fated decision to leave trains at rail yards in Kearny and Hoboken that ended up flooding during Sandy, resulting in hundreds of damaged locomotives and train cars and a $120 million bill.

NJ Transit's response to Sandy was reviewed by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service — informally known as TEEX — which focuses on emergency preparedness, homeland security and workforce training.

In a 26-page report released today, TEEX found that:

• Flood protection models are needed to predict the impact of future monster storms on key facilities such as NJ Transit’s Meadows Maintenance Complex and Rail Operations Center in Kearny.

• Having the Emergency Management Team in Newark and the Emergency Operations Center in Orange caused duplication and slowed the sharing of information to the public.

• Even with NJ Transit’s public information staff working around the clock, there was insufficient personnel to manage the website, monitor social media and handle customer service inquiries.

The report wasn't so much a public scolding as constructive criticism to help NJ Transit for the next huge weather event.

TEEX seemed to sympathize with NJ Transit over the dilemma of where to store trains during a storm it termed "a raging freak of nature."

"Storage of rail cars and equipment at the (Meadows Maintenance Complex) resulted in flood damage, but the decision to park equipment at the MMC was based on the storm information available at the time, past storm experience and the need to keep the equipment as close as possible to meet demands for prompt restoration of service," the report stated.

[Silverliner II]

I am curious as to whether or not there was ever a list of the damaged coaches/MU's posted, or updated. I know there is that long string of cars along the Raritan Valley Line between Aldene and Cranford... I am guessing they are all toast... or, waterlogged, under the circumstances....

[25Hz]

Some interesting developments......

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/0 ... er_default" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A string of artificial islands off the coast of New Jersey and New York could blunt the impact of storm surges that proved so deadly during Hurricane Sandy, according to a proposal vying for attention and funding as the region continues its recovery.

It's a big proposal that would cost $10 billion to $12 billion. But it's also the kind of innovative idea that federal officials requested as they consider how best to protect the heavily populated region from future storms.

"We've discussed this with the governor's office of Recovery and Resiliency and the Department of Environmental Protection, and they all look at me like, 'Whoa! This is a big deal!" said Alan Blumberg, a professor at New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology. "Yes, it is a big deal. It can save lives and protect property."

Looks like my predictions of flood barriers and the like for hudson & essex county waterways was accurate.

[morris&essex4ever]

I love the comments.

This could be the dumbest thing ever. Build barrier islands to protect the barrier islands? How about just not building so much on the barrier islands we already have?

I'd be worried that changing the offshore currents with man made islands might cause more problems then it solves.

[ThirdRail7]

I love the comments.

This could be the dumbest thing ever. Build barrier islands to protect the barrier islands? How about just not building so much on the barrier islands we already have?

I'd be worried that changing the offshore currents with man made islands might cause more problems then it solves.

The truth hurts!

[25Hz]

I guess bayonne, jersey city, hoboken, staten island, elizabeth, bay head, belmar, toms river, perth amboy, long branch are all on barrier islands?

Seriously though, the first thing you do to protect a populated, ocean facing coastline, is deposit compacted sand or accropodes or large rocks as a barrier. A barrier island with homes and businesses on it can no longer protect people and property from the ocean, because the barrier island is not a fixed feature, they change over time & the function it served is now removed as well.

Also, these artificial barriers would take a few notches out of the storm surge impact, wave action, and, longer term, zoning changes and buying out people in flood prone areas would go a very long way in addressing both ocean level rise, and storm impacts.

Hard barriers along large sections of the coast farther up towards long branch into the hudson are what will be needed if you dont want water washing things away and flooding basements and power plants/substations & rail yards. Additional options include requiring empty sacrificial ground floors that water simply passes through on new structures, and implement a deadline for existing structures.

Pretty irresponsible to allow building in areas that get residences & infrastructure damaged & rebuilt/repaired every big/bad storm.

Time to stop thinking small, and realize if you don't want more damage like from sandy, you need to build things to protect those areas. And 12 billion dollars once for a storm that could cause 4x that in damage is absolutely worth the monetary investment, let alone the psychological impact of saving families from living in red cross shelters & losing all their stuff etc.....

From now on there are no easy choices, but they will have to be made, or sandy (or worse) could happen again, even as soon as this summer...

[25Hz]

I think building sea walls between the town and the sand would be better for the beach parts of the state,(why not build the boardwalk on top of that?) while the more heavily industrialized sections north of long branch need something more substantial. You could put movable barriers at the inlets and stuff down south in the beach areas to protect the surge from going into the bay/lagoon side. Then, up north, you have more of a wall in the ocean all the way that blocks movement during surge situations, but otherwise stays open to allow normal waves and tide action.

I think putting a barrier across the hudson isn't feasible, i think you'd just have to kind of fortify the banks, then, say, put one across the water underneath the bayonne bridge and another one down on the other end of the arthor kill to protect all the port facilities.

That way everything is protected, and you don't get flat water on the beaches, and you protect the built up/industrial areas.

[ThirdRail7]

I guess bayonne, jersey city, hoboken, staten island, elizabeth, bay head, belmar, toms river, perth amboy, long branch are all on barrier islands?

Seriously though, the first thing you do to protect a populated, ocean facing coastline, is deposit compacted sand or accropodes or large rocks as a barrier. A barrier island with homes and businesses on it can no longer protect people and property from the ocean, because the barrier island is not a fixed feature, they change over time & the function it served is now removed as well.

Also, these artificial barriers would take a few notches out of the storm surge impact, wave action, and, longer term, zoning changes and buying out people in flood prone areas would go a very long way in addressing both ocean level rise, and storm impacts.

Hard barriers along large sections of the coast farther up towards long branch into the hudson are what will be needed if you dont want water washing things away and flooding basements and power plants/substations & rail yards. Additional options include requiring empty sacrificial ground floors that water simply passes through on new structures, and implement a deadline for existing structures.

Pretty irresponsible to allow building in areas that get residences & infrastructure damaged & rebuilt/repaired every big/bad storm.

Time to stop thinking small, and realize if you don't want more damage like from sandy, you need to build things to protect those areas. And 12 billion dollars once for a storm that could cause 4x that in damage is absolutely worth the monetary investment, let alone the psychological impact of saving families from living in red cross shelters & losing all their stuff etc.....

From now on there are no easy choices, but they will have to be made, or sandy (or worse) could happen again, even as soon as this summer...

They might not be on barrier islands but if you decide to build your house against the water, you get what you get. I've said it for YEARS: It is only a matter of time. Instead of being surprised that the ocean and or bay is in your living room, back off and let the wetlands and estuaries do what they were designed to do.

[Don31]

I guess bayonne, jersey city, hoboken, staten island, elizabeth, bay head, belmar, toms river, perth amboy, long branch are all on barrier islands?

Seriously though, the first thing you do to protect a populated, ocean facing coastline, is deposit compacted sand or accropodes or large rocks as a barrier. A barrier island with homes and businesses on it can no longer protect people and property from the ocean, because the barrier island is not a fixed feature, they change over time & the function it served is now removed as well.

Also, these artificial barriers would take a few notches out of the storm surge impact, wave action, and, longer term, zoning changes and buying out people in flood prone areas would go a very long way in addressing both ocean level rise, and storm impacts.

Hard barriers along large sections of the coast farther up towards long branch into the hudson are what will be needed if you dont want water washing things away and flooding basements and power plants/substations & rail yards. Additional options include requiring empty sacrificial ground floors that water simply passes through on new structures, and implement a deadline for existing structures.

Pretty irresponsible to allow building in areas that get residences & infrastructure damaged & rebuilt/repaired every big/bad storm.

Time to stop thinking small, and realize if you don't want more damage like from sandy, you need to build things to protect those areas. And 12 billion dollars once for a storm that could cause 4x that in damage is absolutely worth the monetary investment, let alone the psychological impact of saving families from living in red cross shelters & losing all their stuff etc.....

From now on there are no easy choices, but they will have to be made, or sandy (or worse) could happen again, even as soon as this summer...

At the risk of pushing this thread farther off topic, barriers islands are dynamic systems. They are meant to move back and forth as a "shock absorber" against the ocean's energy. Steep storm waves in the winter "erode" the beaches, but the gentler summer swells replace most of the sand that is lost. The problem arises when you try to put something permanent (a house or a road) onto something that is supposed to move back and forth. Barrier islands should never have been developed in the first place.

Sea walls?? Hard barriers?? They've been proven time and again to only accelerate scour and erosion along their face, with eventual undermining.

The only real solution is politically suicidal. Stop the federal flood insurance program from paying people to re-build structures that are in harm's way, only to see them destroyed repeatedly. Implement institutional controls (rolling easements, etc.) and purchase the most vulnerable properties and relocate the occupants.

[25Hz]

I agree don, i really do. As lovely as these places are to be, they really need to be more restrictive on building, and perhaps slowly over time buy property and remove the towns on the islands letting them regain their natural role as barriers.


But the hard barriers would be along existing areas with bulkheads, simply making a wall where it was once a drop off into the water from grade level. You could even try putting something quayside that raises and hinges into place with bracing on the inland side, and, say for example right where PATH goes next to the river, you could put a deep slurry wall with replaceable metal baffles on top to absorb wave energy when the water is very high. The depth of the wall into the ground would prevent undermining, and you could put pilings deeper to really get a solid anchor, in fact you could put pilings that reached from the bottom of the structure deep underground to the top of the metal baffles.

I guess it really just depends on how confident you feel that minor drainage adjustments would be enough vs a wall.

There's also the dredging issue, how could the rivers be shaped on the bottom to lessen the impact of the surge?

Can you imagine having a sandy storm but with minimal water incursion and normal transit operations? How much would that be worth?

[ThirdRail7]

To everyone that complained about the previous plan being redacted, here's a new one. Click on the link to view the plans.



NJ Transit unveils new plan to protect equipment in severe weather

Thursday, June 12, 2014, 7:06 AM

By Karen Rouse

http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-tran ... -1.1033311" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NJ Transit, which received a torrent of public criticism after it stored rail equipment in low-lying yards during Superstorm Sandy — a decision that resulted in $120 million in damage — has developed a new plan for protecting its railcars and locomotives during severe weather.

Without any fanfare, NJ Transit has posted on its website seven Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan documents detailing how the agency will respond to storms, terrorist acts, earthquakes and other major events that threaten customers and assets. There are seven plans in all, including separate documents for each mode of transportation — bus, light rail and commuter rail — as well as plans for the NJ Transit Police Department and disability services and a corporate plan.

At 16 pages, the new plan for the rail lines stands in stark contrast to the 3½-page document NJ Transit relied on during Sandy. That plan listed specific high ground, safe-haven locations where trains could be stored and kept dry during a storm. But it did not detail the responsibilities of those within the organization’s chain of command.

The public posting of the documents is also a switch for NJ Transit, which had guarded its hurricane plan following Sandy, releasing only redacted documents. The Record obtained that plan after suing NJ Transit, which had claimed at the time that publicizing the plan created a security risk. NJ Transit officials said Wednesday that agency police reviewed the new plan and approved it before it was posted.


Both the new and old rail plans include instructions on preparations in advance of a storm, but while the old plan starts at 72 hours before a storm hits, the new one calls for preparations to begin as early as May of each year (hurricane season starts June 1), with an assessment of equipment storage potential.

[OportRailfan]

Relevant:

http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2 ... ed_stories

[zerovanity59]

This is a little more relevant. The press release.

http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet. ... SE_ID=2939" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[fishball]

It seems that there is funding for filling in the Long Slip at Hoboken, and construction of new high-level platforms there. Does this mean the terminal is expanding? And what will happen to the HBLR terminal? I'm curious to see more details for this.