In Manhattan, portions of the Upper East Side between the 70s and the 90s near the East River flooded despite their designation as Zone B areas.Īccording to OEM Press Secretary Christopher Miller, the NOAA Sea Lake Overland Surge from Hurricanes ( SLOSH) data used to create the hurricane zones “took the worst-case model for each hurricane category and built zones that were even more conservative by incorporating entire streets for any block that experience surge in the model.” He didn’t mention Zone B at all.īut when the storm hit, Zone B areas like Canarsie, Gravesend, Gerritsen Beach, Bergen Beach, portions of Bath Beach, Mill Basin, Marine Park, Lindenwood, areas of Howard Beach, Springfield Gardens, Brookville, Rosewood, North Woodmere and Woodmere all flooded to varying degrees. For those in Zone A, evacuation is mandatory,” the mayor said at a press conference. On the Sunday before the storm hit, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed an executive order mandating that people living in Zone A leave their homes ahead of the storm. Zone B, demarcated in orange, could flood during category 2 or higher hurricanes, while Zone C, outlined in yellow, warned of flooding from any category 3 or 4 hurricane that struck just south of New York City. Zone A, demarcated in red on the above map, would be at risk of flooding from any potential hurricane. Using modeling data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New York City’s Office of Emergency Management ( OEM) divides the city’s low-lying and coastal areas up into three zones according to their risk of flooding. But Sandy also exposed flaws in the maps New York City uses to order evacuations, and in the models scientists employ to predict the impact of tropical storms. When Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge ripped through New York City on the evening of October 29, it exposed seaside houses to devastating waves, basement electrical systems to the corroding menace of salt water and subway tunnels to unprecedented flooding.
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