Individuals whose homes are at high risk for flooding in New York City will receive free inflatable cofferdams in a plan that Mayor Eric Adams announced in July 2022. The city faces an extended spell of potentially heavy rainfall between August and October, with around eight hurricanes or extreme weather events.
It is estimated that the plan will cost taxpayers around $2.5 million. Still, that figure has the potential to be dwarfed by the cost of clean-up operations and structural repairs should the worst happen when the city is hit by the expected periods of intense rainfall.
It is Hoped That the Cofferdam Plan Will Stop a Repeat of the Devastation Caused by Hurricane Ida
“Climate change is the city’s biggest environmental threat, and while we continue to invest in resiliency and infrastructure projects to protect us for generations to come,” said Mayor Adams. “The Rainfall Ready NYC action plan will help every New Yorker to protect themselves, their families, and their homes.”
The previous attitude towards climate change was one of individual responsibility. Still, this plan changes the focus to collective responsibility. New York was one of the areas hit hard by Hurricane Ida in August 2021, which globally caused $75.25 billion worth of damage and resulted in over 100 people losing their lives. At least 27 people died in New Jersey, and there were over 80,000 power outages on September 1, when New York and New Jersey felt the full force of Ida’s wrath. The total damage totals once Ida swept through the area were in the multiple billions in both New Jersey and New York.
Following Hurricane Ida, more than 4,000 property damage claims were filed against the City of New York, claiming that the city’s negligence with the sewer system has exacerbated the damage caused to homes and businesses.
In 2022, New York Hopes to be Proactive Rather than Reactive to Extreme Weather Events
In a further statement, Department of Environmental commissioner Rit Aggarwala said, “Our climate is changing, and that means increasingly common extreme weather impacting New York City, but there are measures we can take to prepare ourselves.”
It is estimated that 8,000 homes within New York City’s most-flood-prone areas, ranging in size from one to four units, will receive letters throughout the summer and early fall telling them they are eligible for free flood protection. These homes have been selected based on stormwater flood maps drawn up in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. New York has a total of 25,000 dams available, although each dam is only four feet in length.
Eligible residents collected the inflatable cofferdams and sandbags from assigned distribution points from August onwards. In addition, all households in New York and New Jersey (and throughout the US) were given access to an online resource guide called ‘Rainfall Ready NYC,’ which contained plans advising people on how to make the best preparations for incoming inclement weather.
For flood protection on a much grander scale, please get in touch with Dam-It-Dams. Our large-scale inflatable cofferdams can be used to provide flood protection to homes and business premises alike. Be prepared for the hurricane season with our quick-to-deploy inflatable cofferdams, which can also be used for the containment or diversion of water. In short, our go-to solution for water intrusion issues is to just add water!