NEW YORK (PIX11) — At least 40 people in New York and New Jersey died as a result of historic flooding caused by Hurricane Ida. With the introduction of a citywide “Rainfall Ready NYC” plan, Mayor Eric Adams and other officials hope to prepare New Yorkers “for more extreme rainfall in the future.”
“The city is acting now to keep New Yorkers safe as we move into hurricane season, and I encourage every New Yorker to make emergency plans for the next extreme weather event,” Adams said in a statement.
According to a press release, climate change is contributing to “volumes of stormwater that the city’s infrastructure was never designed to capture.” Rainfall Ready NYC outlines actions New Yorkers can take to prevent, serious injury and damage.
Those actions include:
- Encouraging New Yorkers to use new interactive stormwater flood maps to understand the likelihood of flooding
- Inspecting chronic flooding locations and clearing debris from catch basins in at-risk locations prior to predicted storms
- Expanding FloodNet, a network of street flooding sensors designed to better understand the frequency, severity and impacts of flooding in New York City
Additionally, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection will provide sandbags and flood barriers to residents in at-risk neighborhoods. The city is also introducing protocol that would protect delivery workers during severe weather events.
