Coastal Storms Affecting Connecticut's Coastal Populations

Since 1880, records show that the sea level has bone up 8 inches. If it goes up six more inches, as the current studies indicate could happen within 20 years, South Florida’s flood control would be devastated. In South Florida, taxpayers are already paying the price for climate change as salt-water pushes through porous bedrock into coastal drinking-water supplies, and rivers and canals choked by heavy rains have a harder time draining into the ocean.

In late October of 2012 many weather factors converged to create Hurricane Sandy, a huge storm with winds gusting up to 90 miles per hour. This hurricane was unprecedented in modern times, arriving late in the hurricane season, making landfall abnormally far to the north on the United States east coast with an exceptionally low pressure and a record breaking storm surge. Sandy also had among the most kinetic energy of all tropical cyclones on record at 222 Joules, more energy than category 5 hurricanes, despite just being category 1 because of the large area over which she spread.

The sea levels are rising due to the compaction of the groundwater withdrawals, post-glaciation settling, and the effects from the meteor crater in the Chesapeake Bay. The sea levels are slowly rising in present day but with the hurricanes and nor'easters they help aid in making those levels rise faster of a period of time. If the climate warmed two degrees, the sea levels will rise which will cause the beaches to erode and create flooding. Due to sea levels rising, about 13.1 million people in Virginia will be displaced and approximately two billion people in the world. Coastal resilience is the community coming together to build a stronger community after extreme weather storms or any hazardous events. This is to make sure that the community is prepared for the next possible hazardous event so that the impact is less

Irrespective of its cause, the impacts of climate change include more frequent and severe weather, higher death rates, dirtier air, higher wildlife extinction rates, and higher sea levels (IPCC, 2014). Although each of these impact areas are significant and worthy of further discussion, it is the ramifications of sea level rise that brought me to discuss climate action today.

The overview of vulnerabilities isn’t fully addressed, the climate change is resulting in significant impacts to Massachusetts coastline and ocean waters. The coast is modestly changing in temperature having an impact on sensitive ecosystems, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem-based economies, based off fisheries, tourism, and recreation. Sea level will impact development, infrastructure and natural systems from erosion and storm damage. Impacts may also include loss of life, extensive property damage, destruction of public infrastructure; releasing of sewage, oil,debris, and other contaminants; and loss of commercial and marine-related businesses critical to local,regional, and state economies. Also, areas such as coastal salt marshes,barrier

Over the last several decades, global climate change has been scientifically proven to be a result of human activity (“Carbon Dioxide Emissions”). Industrial processes, fossil fuel combustion, and changes in land use have altered the balance of greenhouse gases (GHG’s) in the Earth’s atmosphere. (City of New York et al. 2013) By increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide and other GHG’s in Earth’s atmosphere, our modern society is gradually warming the planet and altering its climate (“Carbon Dioxide Emissions”). Most recently, a March 2012 study found that climatic changes resulting from a warming planet have already increased the frequency of extreme weather events, “most notably heat waves and precipitation extremes” (“Carbon Dioxide Emissions”). As New York experienced not too long ago with Hurricane Sandy, the Earth’s climate and weather patterns have responded to such changes, with increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, loss of animal and plant species, impacts to human health, disruption of ecosystems, and other effects (City of New York et al. 2013) Such effects of human-induced climate change present potential threats to the infrastructure, economy, and health of not only New York City but the entire U.S.

In August of 1955, Connecticut suffered one of its worst flooding disasters in the history of the state. The flood was caused by two hurricanes passing through the region around the same time, bringing several inches of rain. According to the state’s website, “on August 11-12, Hurricane Connie produced four to six inches of rain throughout Connecticut. One week later, on August 18-20, Hurricane Diane produced another 10 to 20 inches of rain” (ct.gov). As a result, heavy rains permeated the ground and rivers, causing them to overflow. Most of the damage came from small rivers and streams that did not have proper flood control as compared to major rivers such as the Connecticut River. The hardest hit areas were the

Anne Arundel County is located on the coast of Maryland, and is “ almost completely surrounded by tidal and non-tidal waterways.”(pg. 1) This plan assesses the vulnerability of Anne Arundel County to sea level rise and makes recommendations improving the community’s climate resilience. It analyzes the impact sea level rise will have on the county in two scenarios, one where sea level rise is 0-2ft and one where it is 0-5ft. For instance, it identifies that 371 county archeological sites are vulnerable to 0-2ft of inundation and 422 sites are with 0-5ft of inundation. The plan notes that such sites are important cultural resources for the county and that “[o]nce they are destroyed [...] the information these sites can tell us of our past is

In October of 2012, a post-tropical cyclone swept its way through the Caribbean. The name of this cyclone is better known as Sandy. It began its journey to the East Coast as that of a tropical wave in the Caribbean, and in a matter of 6 hours turned into a tropical storm and then eventually a hurricane. The winds increased to up to 74 miles per hour. Sandy was a 5.8 out of 6 on NOAA’S s scale causing nearly 285 deaths, and costing nearly $367 billion. Although, this was a devastating hurricane, it could have been more destructive if the proper precautions were not taken before and during the storm. However, there are certain procedures that need to be improved in order to ensure the coasts are better protected.

On the morning of August 29, 2005, New Orleans, Louisiana became the site of one of the worst natural disasters in United States history – Hurricane Katrina. Ranked as the single most costly natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the United States, Hurricane Katrina was certainly not an average storm. The hurricane itself did not appear to be extremely abnormal, as Atlantic hurricanes of similar or greater magnitudes have made landfall in the gulf coast over the last 50 years (Keller, 329). However, none of them caused nearly as much damage and death as Hurricane Katrina. With monetary damages of over $125 billion and 1,833 fatalities, it is clear that the

Every year, the East Coast of the United States is struck by several hurricanes, which can cause billions of dollars in damage, slow the economy and transportation to a halt, and can sometimes lead to significant death and injury tolls. When Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast in late 2012, residents were warned to prepare for severe flooding, loss of power, and the inability ro restock food and medical supplies. However, despite the warnings, thousands of people in New York and New Jersey failed in their

Hurricane Sandy was one of the most catastrophic hurricanes of 2012. I do think that climate change made the hurricane more intense because of the increase in water vapor due to warm temperature. Warmer atmosphere and oceans increased the effects of hurricane Sandy, because of the high level of sea. It changes the frequency and strength of the hurricane.

Imagine the United States without Florida. That is where our country is headed due to the increase in sea level caused by climate change. There can also be many unforeseen impacts to the economy of many places. What would the future of Maine look like without lobsters and how coastal jobs will decrease along the coast of Maine. There are also many more dangers and risks that are forced onto the people of Chennai, India and Florida, United States. Both of the places are at risk of major flooding and have already experienced flooding. This is why climate change is a major problem and needs to be

On October 29th of 2012, Hurricane Sandy stormed its way through the northeast region of the United States, causing tremendous damage to coastal areas. The combination of 80-90mph winds and waves in excess of 32ft high caused the destruction of property in northern New Jersey. The level of damage varied even between neighboring boroughs of

The first was the Great New England Hurricane (1938), followed by the Great Atlantic Hurricane (1944), and then Hurricane Carol (1954). Following Hurricane Carol, Congress authorized and funded seven hurricane protection projects, including barriers, navigation gates, pumps, earthfill, concrete walls, pump stations, levees, beach fill, and a dam (Morang, 2016). Most of the projects have not been tested with storm-water elevations near their design elevation except the Charles River Dam in Boston, which helped prevent flooding during the Blizzard of 1978, and Raritan Bay, during Hurricane Sandy (Morang, 2016). After the flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, comprehensive hurricane barriers have been proposed at high-risk areas, such as the New York Bight. But more hurdles would have to be cleared this time, given New York’s location and population (Morang,