Hurricane Barriers in New England and New Jersey: History and Status after Five Decades

Morang, Andrew

doi:10.2112/jcoastres-d-14-00074.1

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…For example, despite destructive hurricanes in 1938 and 1944, New England did not begin to address coastal flooding with public works until Hurricane Carol in 1954. This was in part due to exogenous economic and geopolitical events crowding out government‐led risk reduction efforts, such as the Great Depression and World War II (Morang, 2016). In another example, the USACE proposed levees and berms for the South Shore of Staten Island following damaging winter storms in December 1992 and March 1993.…”

Section: The Decision To Pursue Coastal Risk Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite political challenges, several coastal risk reduction megaprojects have been built in the U.S. (Table 2; Morang, 2016). Projects completed prior to 1970 benefited from preceding modern environmental laws, and in a recent case, some environmental procedures were overridden as a result of the urgent need to protect New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (CRS, 2006; Luther, 2006).…”

Section: Lessons Learned: Creating a Politically Favorable Environmenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, rising sea levels (Sweet et al., 2017), expanding coastal development (Crossett et al., 2013; Neumann et al., 2015; Titus et al., 2009), and recent hurricane disasters have encouraged several U.S. cities to investigate strategies for managing coastal floods, including adaptation works such as levees, storm surge barriers and other megastructures (Table 1; City and County of San Francisco, 2016; City of New York, 2020; GCCPRD, 2018; Sustainable Solutions Lab, 2018a; USACE, 2016, 2018a, 2018b, 2019, 2020b, 2020a). These risk reduction strategies have proven to be technically and economically viable options for densely populated areas to manage sea‐level rise and coastal flooding (e.g., the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier in Providence, Rhode Island; Figure 1; Aerts et al., 2014; Hill et al., 2012; Jonkman et al., 2013; Kirshen et al., 2020; Merrell et al., 2011; Mooyaart & Jonkman, 2017; Morang, 2016; US National Research Council, 2014). Densely populated regions often lack the space to take advantage of nature‐based approaches (e.g., beach widening and wetland restoration) and other coastal adaptation options (e.g., managed retreat, informed land‐use planning, building codes, and insurance) can conflict with local development goals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Political Complexity of Coastal Flood Risk Reduction: Lessons for Climate Adaptation Public Works in the U.S.

et al. 2021

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Coastal climate adaptation public works, such as storm surge barriers and levees, are central elements of several current proposals to limit damages from coastal storms and sea‐level rise in the United States. Academic analysis of these public works projects is dominated by technocratic and engineering‐driven frameworks. However, social conflict, laws, political incentives, governance structures, and other political factors have played pivotal roles in determining the fate of government‐led coastal flood risk reduction efforts. Here, we review the ways in which politics has enabled or hindered the conception, design, and implementation of coastal risk reduction projects in the U.S. We draw from the literature in natural hazards, infrastructure, political science, and climate adaptation and give supporting examples. Overall, we find that (1) multiple floods are often needed to elicit earnest planning; (2) strong and continuous leadership from elected officials is necessary to advance projects; (3) stakeholder participation during the design stage has improved outcomes; (4) legal challenges to procedural and substantive shortcomings under environmental protection statutes present an enduring obstacle to implementing megastructure proposals.

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Section: The Decision To Pursue Coastal Risk Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lessons Learned: Creating a Politically Favorable Environmenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Political Complexity of Coastal Flood Risk Reduction: Lessons for Climate Adaptation Public Works in the U.S.

et al. 2021

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“…For example, despite destructive hurricanes in 1938 and 1944, New England did not begin to address coastal flooding with public works until Hurricane Carol in 1954. This was in part due to exogenous economic and geopolitical events crowding out government-led risk reduction efforts, such as the Great Depression and World War II (Morang, 2016). In another example, the USACE proposed levees and berms for the South Shore of Staten Island following damaging winter storms in December 1992 and March 1993.…”

Section: Flood Disasters Highlight the Need For Coastal Risk Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The political complexity of coastal flood risk reduction: lessons for climate adaptation public works in the U.S.

Rasmussen

Oppenheimer²,

Kopp

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Climate adaptation public works (hereafter, adaptation works) are engineered, structural infrastructure projects, initiated, designed, and implemented by governments, with the intention of reducing the economic and social burden of climate change. For example, rising sea levels (Sweet et al., 2017), expanding coastal development (Crossett et al., 2013;Neumann et al., 2015;Titus et al., 2009), and recent hurricane disasters have encouraged several U.S. cities to investigate strategies for managing coastal floods, including adaptation works such as levees, storm surge barriers and other megastructures (

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“…The FPHB is made up of several elements ( Figure 2): three movable Tainter gates spanning the upper Providence River (the northern portion of Narragansett Bay), dikes to the east and the west of the river, vehicular gates allowing access through the eastern dike, and a pumping station designed to discharge runoff from upstream of the Barrier when the Tainter gates are closed (see Figures 1 and 3 for the location of the Barrier). The design height of the FPHB is 25 feet (7.62 m) above the (now superseded) NGVD29 vertical datum [1]. Using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) VDatum conversion tool (https://vdatum.noaa.gov), the elevation at the top of the barrier is 7.37 m above NAVD88.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Multiple Impacts of Extreme Hurricanes in Southern New England, USA

et al. 2019

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The southern New England coast of the United States is particularly vulnerable to land-falling hurricanes because of its east-west orientation. The impact of two major hurricanes on the city of Providence (Rhode Island, USA) during the middle decades of the 20th century spurred the construction of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier (FPHB) to protect the city from storm surge flooding. Although the Rhode Island/Narragansett Bay area has not experienced a major hurricane for several decades, increased coastal development along with potentially increased hurricane activity associated with climate change motivates an assessment of the impacts of a major hurricane on the region. The ocean/estuary response to an extreme hurricane is simulated using a high-resolution implementation of the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model coupled to the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). The storm surge response in ADCIRC is first verified with a simulation of a historical hurricane that made landfall in southern New England. The storm surge and the hydrological models are then forced with winds and rainfall from a hypothetical hurricane dubbed “Rhody”, which has many of the characteristics of historical storms that have impacted the region. Rhody makes landfall just west of Narragansett Bay, and after passing north of the Bay, executes a loop to the east and the south before making a second landfall. Results are presented for three versions of Rhody, varying in the maximum wind speed at landfall. The storm surge resulting from the strongest Rhody version (weak Saffir–Simpson category five) during the first landfall exceeds 7 m in height in Providence at the north end of the Bay. This exceeds the height of the FPHB, resulting in flooding in Providence. A simulation including river inflow computed from the runoff model indicates that if the Barrier remains closed and its pumps fail (for example, because of a power outage or equipment failure), severe flooding occurs north of the FPHB due to impoundment of the river inflow. These results show that northern Narragansett Bay could be particularly vulnerable to both storm surge and rainfall-driven flooding, especially if the FPHB suffers a power outage. They also demonstrate that, for wind-driven storm surge alone under present sea level conditions, the FPHB will protect Providence for hurricanes less intense than category five.

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Hurricane Barriers in New England and New Jersey: History and Status after Five Decades

Cited by 21 publications

References 15 publications

The Political Complexity of Coastal Flood Risk Reduction: Lessons for Climate Adaptation Public Works in the U.S.

The Political Complexity of Coastal Flood Risk Reduction: Lessons for Climate Adaptation Public Works in the U.S.

The political complexity of coastal flood risk reduction: lessons for climate adaptation public works in the U.S.

Assessing the Multiple Impacts of Extreme Hurricanes in Southern New England, USA

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