Surge Warning System Can Save Lives

An early warning system that could predict the severity of a storm surge could have saved the lives that were lost during Superstorm Sandy.

That kind of technology did not exist at the time, but according to the the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA), it soon will be.

Thanks to a prolonged push by Senator Charles Schumer, NOAA announced on May 21 that it will create the first-ever storm surge warning maps to better predict the height of rising tides and provide more time for evacuations from these sudden and dangerous waves of water.

This move will be critical to individual residents and local emergency managers. In the past, NOAA has issued warning maps for tropical storms, hurricanes and tornadoes, but no such warning system exists for storm surges.

According to NOAA, storm surges are often the greatest threat to life and property from a hurricane. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 32 people in New York Statetragically drowned as a result of Sandy. NOAA’s new storm surge warning maps will help highlight areas where inundation from storm surge can occur, and to what extent.

“During Sandy, Staten Island, Rockaway and the South Shore of Long Island were slammed with a storm surge that had all the power and fatal results of a tsunami. We all saw the devastating impact a storm surge can have, which is why these new storm surge maps and warning systems that highlight the life-threatening risk of remaining within these vulnerable areas during a storm are so essential,” said Schumer. “For the first time ever, NOAA will issue storm surge maps to alert residents of at-risk areas during a hurricane, giving them time to prepare and evacuate if needed. These life-saving maps will help residents understand how to proceed before a storm hits.”

Schumer also announced that, beginning with the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) will issue the Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map for areas along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts at risk of storm surge from a tropical cyclone.

According to NOAA, the maps will highlight geographical areas where inundation from storm surge could occur and how high above ground the water could reach in those areas. The maps will show inundation levels that have a 10 percent chance of being exceeded and can therefore be thought of as representing a reasonable worst-case scenario. The maps can now be found on the NHC website at www.nhc.noaa.gov/