New York’s vulnerability to extreme weather

New York Times : As shown by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy this past week, New York City is prone to flooding. Much of the city is below sea level, including its subway system, building foundations, and the World Trade Center site, all of which filled with water when the record-breaking 4-meter storm surge struck Manhattan. For almost a decade, scientists have been warning city and state officials that some sort of levee system or storm surge barriers are needed to protect the city and its 8 million inhabitants. And with climate change, the situation is only expected to get worse: Over the next century, coastal waters around New York could rise as much as six inches per decade. Whether Sandy will prove to be a long overdue call for action, however, remains to be seen.