hurricane sandy westchester countyhurricane sandy westchester county

Climate Change in New York State: Updating the 2011 ClimAID Climate Risk Information. The average annual number of days with over 2 inches of rainfall is projected to increase from 3 (baseline years 2000-2004) to 5 by both 2050 and 2080. The time of the detour is 5 minutes without traffic; however, due to the storm events and additional traffic on the alternate route, a time penalty of 80 percent was applied to arrive at the estimate detour time of 9 minutes per auto. Located at the County Center (198 Central Ave., White Plains), the facility will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. John Cornelius, a business analyst at the Small Business Development Center in Yonkers, reminds us that even two years later, some people are still struggling: Development centers like ours are the face of the HUDs New York Rising program, which offers small businesses grants of $50,000 and low-interest loans for disaster recovery, and its still very active. WebEven though Hurricane Sandy was declared a post-tropical cyclone by the time it made its final landfall -- just 5 miles southwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey at about 8 PM EDT on Other contributing factors are described below. There are a number of transit alternatives including Metro-North Railroad and the Bee-Line Westchester Bus System that provide direct service to Yonkers, Scarsdale, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The average annual number of days with over 2 inches of rainfall is projected to increase to 4 by 2050 and 4-5 by 2080. WebThey also may call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). A second set of alternatives assumes that NYSDOT chooses not to raise or relocate the roadway (e.g., for environmental or historic preservation reasons) and instead pursues two complementary approaches. With the Saw Mill River, as with other rivers, there are various factors that exacerbate the physical limitations of the river channel, thus contributing to flooding of the Saw Mill River Parkway. Furthermore, the Sprain Brook Parkway does not flood to the same degree as the Saw Mill River Parkway, and only experiences closures during 50-year storms (or stronger). Lack of Channel Maintenance: Lack of maintenance of the Saw Mill River channel allows build-up of debris. This strategy could potentially prevent adverse impacts on mobility and the economy from disruptions to the Parkway, which would otherwise occur during moderate to heavy rainstorms. [21] Assumptions were made that 90 percent of travelers would be affected by the moderate to heavy rainstorm event and incur a cost, because transit mode share is already very high for the origin-destination pairs served by bus and rail services, and the majority of those who choose to drive are assumed to attempt the trip during these moderate to heavy rainstorm events.

The proposed drainage system would also meet stormwater management requirements as the proposed design does not increase the amount of paved (impervious) area, which means the volume of water being discharged is either the same or less than the volume being discharged under current conditions. Based on the anticipated service life of storm drain systems, it is proposed by the project team that end-of-century precipitation projections be considered in proposed improvements to the existing drainage system at the Saw Mill River Parkway segment.

The storm drainage system on the Saw Mill River Parkway uses a design that was commonly used for roadways of the same era, but is not commonly used in the new construction of roadways today. WebThe Hudson Valley/ Westchester County Region has nine NY Rising communities distributed over three counties Orange, Rockland, and Westchester. P. Astorino. Westchester County Disaster Recovery Fund Distributes Hurricane Sandy Relief Grants Co-Communications, Inc. , Neighbor Posted Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 10:41 am ET Looking at the middle estimate projections, the annual average number of days with over 1 inch of rainfall is projected to increase to 14-16 by 2050 and 15-17 by 2080. For a moderate to heavy rainstorm event, AADT was divided by 24 hours to derive an hourly traffic count and was subsequently multiplied by the 3.5-hour closure. [20] It is likely that some share of vehicles that would normally travel on this segment of the Saw Mill River Parkway would not use the assumed detour route and could have a shorter or longer detour. HURRICANE SANDY IMPACT ON WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND REAL ESTATE.

Sandy formed in the central Caribbean on October 22, 2012 and intensified into a hurricane as it tracked north Therefore both the economic travel time and vehicle operating costs per event were multiplied by 90 percent for moderate to heavy rainstorm events and by 40 percent for severe storms/hurricanes. Watershed-scale solutions include the development of a watershed master plan and enhancement of flood storage capacity. EPA worked with the utility and the state to fix damaged equipment. DOT, 2009, http://nhts.ornl.gov/tables09/fatcat/2009/avo_TRPTRANS_WHYTRP1S.html. Analysis assumes that a hurricane/severe flooding event would close the road for 24 hours, as it did with Hurricane Irene. A Hurricane Watch is issued when hurricane conditions are a real possibility for the area within 24-36 hours. This block group is located north of Parkway segment evaluated in this assessment, and commuters in this block group going south towards New York City would be impacted if the segment is closed, assuming they use the Parkway. For example, when there is a blockage in the river, water is not effectively transported and is stored upstream of the blockage, resulting in reduced downstream flows. As mentioned in Section 2, the NRCC at Cornell University has developed projections for the increase in the magnitude and frequency of precipitation events at the Dobbs Ferry, NY location, using NARCCAP and CMIP5 simulations. We financed the restoration ourselves and immediately gathered a crew of people to put Humpty Dumpty back together againwe felt an obligation to open on schedule for the following beach season. WebHurricane Sandy was the 18th named tropical cyclone of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 - November 30). The second part of this strategy assumes that NYSDOT and the New York State Thruway Authority would make capital and operational improvements on alternative routes to accommodate detour traffic on days when the Saw Mill River is closed to traffic due to flooding. However, it should be noted that this strategy can potentially influence physical drainage improvement strategies in the future, which would result in broader economic, environmental, or equity-related impacts. During a later storm event, the water surface elevation rises, but there is no flooding. Check with your service providers, said County Executive Robert. The engineering informed adaptation assessments conducted for the Post-Hurricane Sandy Transportation Resilience Study in NY, NJ, and CT, focus on specific Figure 3: Debris blocking/clogging one of two box culverts on the South County Trailway, adjacent to the Saw Mill River Parkway south of Lawrence Street, Figure 5: Culverts after later storm event, Source: NYSDOT (image taken after March 2012; exact date unknown). There are 17 block groups in the southern part of the City of Yonkers west of the Parkway in which between 23 and 38 percent of the population is below the poverty level. Therefore, a conservative (low-risk) approach would be to update current design guidelines to reflect end-of-century projections. These projections have been developed for NYSERDA in partnership with NYSDOT. It cost us about half a million dollars. The lack of maintenance for the existing grass ditches and build-up of debris at the curb openings has become a major problem, both of which would be improved with paved ditches (which generally require less maintenance). If this strategy moves forward to the concept design phase, a more refined cost analysis would need to be conducted in parallel with a more detailed drainage needs assessment based on the specific conveyance needs associated with rainfall intensities for a 10-year design storm. Undersized culverts can create a bottleneck, restricting the rivers flow, resulting in flooding when the water cannot pass through the culvert and is diverted. Its very disruptive to the business. However, a review of the effective FEMA Flood Insurance Study and watershed patterns indicates that there is low potential to enhance existing storage capacity in ponds and swamps along the Saw Mill River and its major tributaries. Westchester County Disaster Recovery Fund Distributes Hurricane Sandy Relief Grants. If applicable, SHPOs role in the project review process would be to ensure that the impacts to eligible properties are considered and avoided or mitigated during the project planning process. The proposed system will increase the paved (impervious) area, thereby increasing the volume of discharge into the river. [4] It is also an evacuation route for the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant located in northern Westchester County, which makes it a critical route from a safety perspective. A cross roadway drainage system should be constructed to carry water from the roadside ditches to the adjacent Saw Mill River to be discharged. Drainage Inlets: 6 inlets x $4,000/inlet = $24,000, Roadway Crossing Pipes: 3 pipes x 55/pipe x $110/ft. It is important to note that the Saw Mill River Parkway is one of the evacuation routes for the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, and therefore it is an extremely critical route from a safety perspective, which means that its closure could have significant safety repercussions.[10]. Starting Tuesday, Nov. 27, the multi-purpose Hurricane Sandy disaster recovery center in White Plains will have new hours of operation. When Hurricane Sandy hit on Oct. 29, it left more than 300,000 Westchester County residents without power, including more than 11,000 in White Plains, about half of Consolidated Edison's The proposed project must also be submitted to FEMA and upon review, FEMA may issue a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR)[24] and/or Letter of Map Revision (LOMR)[25]. Westchester County Communications Officer Sandy Fried, an Amateur Radio operator and ODES staff member, had recently attended a training seminar at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. In this case, instead of fixing the problem, the issue is moved downstream and will need to be resolved at a different location. 2-5 hours (moderate to heavy rainstorms); 24 hours (severe storms/hurricanes, e.g., Hurricane Irene). Copies of Deeds and Mortgage Documents can be obtained from Westchester County Clerks Office. When the water did eventually subside, we ended up with tons of sand in there, too. If this strategy were to be implemented, the per-event avoided costs from moderate to heavy rainstorms are as follows: Considering these per-event costs of moderate to heavy rainstorms impacting the Parkway segment, and the annual frequency of these storms, the cumulative avoided costs as a result of implementing this strategy are significant when compared with the estimated costs of implementing this strategy, which are less than $1 Million, as discussed in detail in Section 6.1.4. The vehicle operating cost per additional vehicle mile traveled includes the cost of gas, maintenance, tires, and half of depreciation, and amounts to $0.32 per mile (in 2012 dollars)[19]. Asphalt paved ditches have little potential for erosion, thereby reducing maintenance required for surrounding areas as compared to the existing vegetated ditches, which require more frequent maintenance (e.g., mowing and periodic cleaning). Listen 0:27 Westchester County is being reimbursed for some of the cost of removing debris from Hurricane Sandy. WebHome Return to County home page. [23] This amount was estimated by the project team under the assumption that NYSDOT may need to conduct studies prior to initiating the process of updating design guidelines, and then following the process. Without stakeholder involvement, critical information regarding the project may be missed and once obtained, may require rework, adding to the cost of the project and delaying its advancement. FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) utilize statistical information, such as data for river flow, storm tides, hydrologic/hydraulic analyses, and rainfall and topographic surveys to determine flood risk. For example, the segment was closed to traffic six times for 2-5 hours in 2011 and 5 times in 2010 due to a few inches flooding. [24] A Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) is FEMAs comment on a proposed project that would, upon construction, affect the hydrologic or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source and thus result in the modification of the existing regulatory floodway, the effective Base Flood Elevations (BFEs), or the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Bridges would need to be raised to maintain required vertical clearances and culverts would need to be enlarged. [21] Westchester County, Bee-Line System Map, http://transportation.westchestergov.com/images/stories/pdfs/2014SysMapEng.pdf. [25] A Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) is FEMAs modification to an effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), or Flood Boundary and Floodway Map (FBFM), or both. (www.fema.gov). It will cost approximately $1.7 Million[22] to construct the recommended drainage design improvements utilizing bioswales along the 0.2 mile Parkway segment (See Table 8). NRCC provided the projected percent change in the magnitude of precipitation over a duration of 24 hours for precipitation events of various return periods for the mid-century (2040-2069) horizon. Figure 10: Historical and Future IDF Curve for 10-Year Return Period, Source: Northeast Regional Climate Center, Cornell University. Small business owners were among the most affected, but in the years following the storm, theyve also proved a portrait of resilience as they continue to rebuild their lives and livelihoods in the wake of an unprecedented disaster. Make sure you have sufficient canned food, first aid supplies, drinking water and medication on hand. The principal owner of the stations, Sammy Eljamal, has agreed to pay $20,000 in penalties for charging unconscionably excessive prices after Hurricane Sandy. Hundreds remained without power as long as two weeks after the storm. In this early stage of transportation engineering study and analysis related to extreme weather events and climate, sharing lessons learned is a proven way to expand a transportation agencys ability to address these risks. As stated in previous sections, this flooding is due to the inadequate capacity of its drainage system to divert rainwater, and also due to additional floodwater overflows from the adjacent Saw Mill River. These specifications can be determined once calculations for a conceptual design have been carried out. Furthermore, the Highway Drainage Section (Chapter 8) of the NYSDOT Highway Design Manual specifies that highway storm drain systems shall have a design life and anticipated service life equal to 70 years. When the blockage is cleared, the downstream flows will increase, possibly causing flooding issues. According to Chapter 8 of the NYSDOT Highway Design Manual, highway storm drain systems should have a design life and anticipated service life equal to 70 years. based on LF (SF bid cost) = 792,000, Pavement Restoration at Pipe Crossings = $65,400. [16] Census.gov, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area, http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acsbr12-02.pdf, [17] Revised Departmental Guidance on Valuation of Travel Time in Economic Analysis, US DOT, June 2014, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/USDOT%20VOT%20Guidance%202014.pdf, [18]National Household Travel Survey, U.S. As of Monday morning, Sandy was centered more than Next, a risk assessment has to be conducted to identify the broader consequences of flooding in the watershed, after which preliminary strategy alternatives are proposed based on previously set end- goals. Our own office has flooded three times in four years. Practitioners should exercise care in applying the lessons learned directly to these and any other facilities, Figure 1: Context Map for Ten FHWA Study Areas (Saw Mill River Parkway in Red). The balance of travelers was assumed to be able to avoid the hazard with minimal costs due to telecommuting, availability of transit, etc. Central maintenance specifications will not need to be updated to implement this design recommendation. This stretch of Parkway also serves local trips between the river towns in Westchester County and unincorporated areas in the Town of Greenburgh. Design calculations need to be done to make sure this option is effective enough to solve the drainage issue. Trucks are not permitted on the Saw Mill River Parkway; therefore, road closures would not affect the movement of goods. New Yorks State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) helps to identify and preserve historic, archaeological, and cultural resources. Local EOCs will request state assistance if needed. This assessment highlights the key causes of riverine flooding and corresponding flood mitigation solutions for the Saw Mill River Parkway corridor. Although an overnight closure would have orders of magnitude less impact than a morning or evening peak commute period closure, this analysis is presented for illustrative purposes. =18,150, Asphalt for paved gutters: 8,008 CF x 0.075 Ton/CF x $200/Ton = $120,120, Asphalt: 195 CF x 0.075 Ton/CF x $200/Ton = $3,000, Bioswale Const. This segment experiences flooding during moderate to heavy rainstorms due to the inadequate capacity of its drainage system to divert rainwater, and also due to additional floodwater overflows from the adjacent Saw Mill River. During closures of the Saw Mill River Parkway, detour time and additional cost are incurred by motorists, who would need to drive an additional distance via the parallel routes. John Ambrose, co-owner of Seaside Johnnies and the Pier Restaurant & Tiki Bar near Rye Playland, says he felt obligated to reopen his popular coastal hangouts on schedule: We had eight feet of water in our basement at Seaside Johnnies. The time of recovery/duration of disruption depends on the extent of the rainfall amount and the ability of the drainage system to handle the volume. Several segments of the Parkway currently experience flooding during precipitation events of various return periods. Co-Communications, Inc., Neighbor. [7] RCP stands for Representative Concentration Pathways. It is a north-south Parkway supporting two lanes of traffic in each direction divided by a median barrier. Thus, it can be concluded that the economic benefits (i.e., avoided costs) of this strategy considerably outweigh the net present value of costs of implementing this strategy. This assessment examines the drainage system of the selected Parkway segment, but it does not address the contribution of overflows from the Saw Mill River to flooding at the Parkway. [17] The per-minute cost for total traffic impacted for both types of events was then multiplied by the number of minutes per delay to capture to economic cost for all vehicles impacted for the length of the delay. Lead time must be factored into the project schedule for the permitting process to be completed prior to construction. WebWHITE PLAINS As part of his ongoing probe of high gasoline prices in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that Considering the per-event costs of moderate to heavy rainstorms impacting the Parkway segment, and the annual frequency of these storms, the cumulative avoided costs as a result of implementing this strategy are significant when compared with the estimated costs of implementing this strategy, which are approximately $1.7 Million, as discussed in detail in Section 6.2.4. The engineering informed adaptation assessments conducted for the Post-Hurricane Sandy Transportation Resilience Study in NY, NJ, and CT, focus on specific facilities in specific locations, and each of the assessments acknowledges and accounts for the local aspects of the assets. Appendices A.1 and A.2 shows the Saw Mill Rivers Flood Profiles in the vicinity of Dobbs Ferry, NY, highlighting factors that contribute to flooding. The project began in April of 2014, and its nearing completion now.. [12] See Table 4. In discussions with NYSDOT, it was agreed to take a low risk-tolerance (conservative) approach and focus on the high estimate (90th percentile) projections for precipitation events in this assessment. [22] A conservative approach has been applied in estimating this cost. Given that this strategy recommends modifying drainage design guidelines, this strategy is only applicable to future drainage systems or existing systems subject to significant modification. A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)/US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Joint Application Form for a wetland permit must be approved. The hardest hit areas were New York City and the counties of Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, and Rockland. This analysis proposes solutions at the watershed and facility scales, as well as updates to design guidelines, to address the causes of flooding. Further, the relatively high basin slope and narrow valley-shaped watershed reduces the basin response time during small intense storms as well as larger storms, resulting in flooding in the watershed. WebWHITE PLAINS As part of his ongoing probe of high gasoline prices in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that These costs can have broader impacts on the regional economy.

The hydraulic model provides water surface elevations that can locate areas of flooding for particular storm events. This system can provide the same flow capacity as an asphalt swale for flood events, while also providing ancillary benefits such as attenuating the peak flow through infiltration and storage in the soil, providing an aesthetic amenity, and improving water quality in downstream receiving waters. The proposed drainage system would not need stormwater quality treatment devices prior to discharging to the Saw Mill River. WESTCHESTER, N.Y. Hurricane Sandy is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge flooding to coastal areas, according to the National Weather Service. Inadequate Storage Capacity: The geometry of the Saw Mill Rivers channel creates a finite area for conveyance above the water surface elevation; therefore, there will be flooding in the rivers floodplain when the channels conveyance capacity is exceeded. Pollutants can enter the ditch along with stormwater; therefore, the water would need to be treated before it can be discharged into the Saw Mill River. The Saw Mill River Parkway provides vital connectivity to the region. [6] Data on precipitation events is not available for 2100, which is why data projected for 2080 is being used instead. pipe sizes, width of ditch, underdrain.) The hydrologic and hydraulic model results will inform possible floodplain management alternatives for the watershed.

First, it would be assumed and accepted that the Saw Mill River Parkway would flood periodically. A NYSDEC Protection of Waters Permit for disturbance (temporary or permanent) to the bed or banks of a stream is required. Westchester County Disaster Recovery Fund Distributes Hurricane Sandy Relief Grants Co-Communications, Inc. , Neighbor Posted Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 2:43 pm ET

Home Return to County home page. The segment of the Saw Mill River Parkway being evaluated in this assessment currently experiences flooding during moderate to heavy rainstorms.

However, closure would not impact commuters in these areas going south towards New York City. The frequency and magnitude of precipitation events impacting the Parkway segment are projected to increase. The five new settlements are with three stations in Westchester County and two stations in Suffolk County. Mapping Hurricane Sandys Deadly Toll. October 30, 2012, 11:45 AM Oct. 30, 2012 -- A community in Westchester County, N.Y., is in mourning today after two boys, ages 11 and 13, were killed when a This proposed adaptation strategy is the same for both 2050 and 2080 scenarios. The Saw Mill River watershed is located within a highly urbanized area in Westchester County with limited available storage in lakes and swamps. In New York City, the majority of deaths occurred in Watershed Characteristics: The complexity of the Saw Mill Rivers watershed varies by location and plays a role in triggering riverine flooding events. Call or stop by our office in Rye, and let us know how you and your loved ones are doing. However, they do require periodic crack sealing and must be kept clean of sediment and debris to avoid becoming a vegetated ditch. By removing the obstruction and clearing the opening, the river is able to flow freely through the culvert. It was assumed that the additional distance traveled (in miles) due to the detour is 3 miles per vehicle.[20]. There was a client base here before, but, when we reopened eight months after the storm, it was very tough to rebuild those relationships. This analysis estimates the per-event economic costs of Parkway closure from two types of weather events: moderate to heavy rainstorms (assuming 3.5-hours of road closure)[11] and severe storms/hurricanes (assuming 24 hours of closure). In addition, it should be noted that land along the Parkway (adjacent to the vegetated ditches) is designated as parkland and is under the jurisdiction of the New York's State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Asphalt paved ditches increase the velocity and capacity of the ditch. Raising the roadway is an effective flood mitigation strategy; however, there are a number of considerations, including temporary and long term impacts to the surrounding areas. It should be noted that in theory, the existing drainage system at the Parkway has an inherent pollutant removal ability (fewer pollutants enter the Saw Mill River because a portion of the stormwater infiltrates into the ground while in the grass ditches before discharging to the river). Debris and the shape of the river bed are both primary providers of flow resistance. The projections are generated from two types of model simulations: the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) simulation and the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulation.

The proposed drainage system would need a stormwater quality treatment device.

For Westchester County, Hurricane Sandys Effects Still Felt. At this location, natural ditches cannot take the rainwater off the Parkway fast enough during moderate to heavy rainstorms. Chapter 8 of the NYSDOT Highway Design Manual specifies that storm drainage systems on interstates and other freeways be designed for a 10-year storm frequency, with locations at sag vertical curves designed for a 50-year storm frequency. Local roads including Saw Mill River Road (New York State Route 9A) and U.S. 9 (Broadway) can accommodate local traffic handled by the Saw Mill River Parkway, although Saw Mill River Road, which runs adjacent to the Parkway, is often affected by the same flooding that affects the Parkway. It took six guys with buckets and shovels a month to get rid of it. The transportation network that includes the Saw Mill River Parkway exhibits some degree of adaptive capacity. The curb openings get blocked with debris and the rainwater ponds, flooding the Parkway. The original waterway opening under a bridge may become inadequate over time as a result of changing drainage patterns and land use conditions in the watershed. The flooding of the Saw Mill River is primarily due to inadequate channel conveyance capacity and lack of storage in the watershed. Causes of flooding include intense precipitation events, inadequate storage capacity in the Saw Mill River channel, characteristics unique to the Saw Mill River watershed, lack of maintenance of the channel, undersized roadway bridges across the channel, and development trends in the river floodplain, such as the location and elevation of the Saw Mill River Parkway. These pictures illustrate the importance of maintenance to remove debris from clogged bridge and culvert openings to prevent flooding during future storm events. See Figure 6 for the FIRM covering the area along the Saw Mill River Parkway in the vicinity of Lawrence Street. [9] See Section 5.2 for an analysis of the economic impacts of this detour distance and delay time. The ground cover/development (e.g., previous grass or impervious pavement), average basin slope, basin response time (time of concentration[2]), and availability of flood storage in the watershed affect the amount of storm water runoff reaching the river. These block groups are located south of the Parkway segment evaluated in this assessment, and closure of the segment could impact reverse-commuters in these areas going north towards Tarrytown and White Plains, assuming they use the Parkway. Emergency Alert Sign-Up; Bee-Line Rider Alerts; Severe Weather; 211 For Non-Emergencies; Indian Point Safety Westchester County This limits infiltration capacity during storms and generates greater runoff volumes.