Yaella Depietri - Multi-hazard risk assessment in a coastal megacity: Identifying hotspots for ecosystem based adaptation in New York City

Authors

Yaella Depietri (Dr.) - Urban Ecology Lab - Environmental Studies Program - The New School - 79 Fifth Avenue - 16th Fl. - New York - NY 10003 - USA, Timon McPhearson (Dr.) - Urban Ecology Lab - Environmental Studies Program - The New School - 79 Fifth Avenue - 16th Fl. - New York - NY 10003 - USA, Khila Dahal (Dr.) - Urban Ecology Lab - Environmental Studies Program - The New School - 79 Fifth Avenue - 16th Fl. - New York - NY 10003 - USA

Body

On the 29th of October 2012, Hurricane Sandy, a category 3 storm, first made landfall on the eastern seaboard of the US. New York City (NYC) was severely affected by the hurricane and was largely unprepared to cope with the magnitude of such an event. However, coastal hazards are not the only extreme events that threaten NYC, or for that matter, coastal cities in general. In the US, heat waves kill on average more persons than any other extreme event. Surface flooding driven by precipitation are also concerning local authorities as these cause damages to housing and significant aquatic pollution in the NYC region. We analyze risk in NYC from multiple hazards sources in a spatially explicit approach to examine the cumulative risk that the city faces. We use a broad set of socio-economic and environmental indicators to assess hazards and vulnerability of the city inhabitants at high spatial resolution. Analysis incorporates local expert opinions to weight indicators. Results identify spatial hotspots of multi-hazard risk to demonstrate where investment is needed to effectively plan, manage, and create policy for adaptation to climate and hydro-meteorological extreme events. Further, we demonstrate how vulnerable populations, affected by multiple hazards, could benefit in a variety of ways through green infrastructure and other ecosystem-based adaptation strategies that reduce exposure and provide opportunities for coping, adaptation and disaster risk reduction solutions while providing co-benefits to meet city goals such as improved livability.

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