Katharina Buczek
Hurricane Sandy specifically pushed seawater into the city. Hurricane Ida, on the other hand, caused heavy rainfall that wound up overwhelming drainage systems.
So, as the threat of severe weather continues to rise, Parsons worries that the skyscrapers’ structural integrity may be at risk.
“The combination of tectonic and anthropogenic subsidence, sea level rise, and increasing hurricane intensity imply an accelerating problem along coastal and riverfront areas,” Parsons said.
“Repeated exposure of building foundations to salt water can corrode reinforcing steel and chemically weaken concrete, causing structural weakening.”
According to the report, greenhouse gas has also been reducing the East Coast’s natural wind shear barrier. And this could allow high-intensity hurricane events to occur more frequently as time goes on.
That’s why the research team hopes their report will raise awareness about the risks New York City is facing and spur action before it is too late.
“The point of the paper is to raise awareness that every additional high-rise building constructed at coastal, river, or lakefront settings could contribute to future flood risk and that mitigation strategies may need to be included,” the authors wrote.
To read the report’s complete findings, which have since been published in Earth’s Future, visit the link here.
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