12/11/2023 0 Comments Pics of new york flood![]() In the last few years, trillions of dollars have been made available to Wall Street by the federal government, dwarfing the sums allotted for mass transit, or for disaster recovery and protection. The MTA, which is beholden to bondholders and thus the dictates of Wall Street, continually claims there is “no money” for projects needed to bring the system up to level where it can meet the needs of the population. Given these recent events, some questions arise: Is this level of funding sufficient to protect one of the largest transit systems in the world, with 472 subway stations alone? What work has been done thus far? Have the private contractors performing much of the work met storm standards? Why is the work taking so long? One organization charged with doing much of this work is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority or MTA which operates subways, commuter rail services, vehicular tunnels and bridges.Īccording to the New York Times, the MTA has spent roughly $2.6 billion since Sandy to protect against flooding. Following Sandy, Democratic politicians pledged billions to harden and upgrade infrastructure to make it more resilient. This comes nearly a decade after so called “super storm” Sandy caused widespread flooding to low-lying areas across the New York/New Jersey region. Images on social media showed stranded motorists standing atop stalled vehicles in water up to the vehicle’s roof, as rescue crews helped them to safety. The Major Deegan Expressway, an important highway connecting New York City to points north was closed, as were several other north-south arteries including Harlem River Drive which connects to the George Washington Bridge, the city’s busiest Hudson River crossing. In addition to creating unsafe conditions in subway stations, the flooding resulted in massive rush-hour delays throughout the aging subway system which is among the busiest in the world. ![]() Those wading through waist-deep water likely had no other means to get home and thus felt compelled to take the risk. Only about half of New York City households have an automobile, which means many people have no alternative to public transport. Other images depicted flood waters rushing across station platforms as commuters tried to board trains and water cascading down stairways and falling from ceilings in stations creating unsafe and unsanitary conditions. ![]() One post on Twitter which has nearly 5 million hits, shows desperate commuters wading through filthy, waist-deep water in an underground passageway which serves as an entrance to the 157th street train station. What is significant is how quickly vital infrastructure failed under the pressure of a routine weather event.Īs the storms hit, social media was quickly filled with disturbing images. These storms are not unusual in the northeastern US during the summer months, although a number of scientific reports have suggested that such weather may become more frequent and more severe in the years ahead due to climate change. The storms also resulted in thousands of homes without power in nearby New Jersey. These storm cells produced heavy downpours which in turn led to localized flooding in northern Manhattan, the Bronx and suburban Westchester County. During the afternoon of Thursday, July 8, a series of powerful thunderstorms moved across the New York City area.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |