Ida-Deluged NYC Drainage System All But Forgotten in Climate Battle

The unprecedented rainfall that remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped Wednesday night made New York City’s climate vulnerabilities starkly visible, less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Henri broke previous rain records.

Boulevards across boroughs could’ve been mistaken for rivers. Yankee Stadium became a lake. Waterfalls cascaded into subway stations. 

The scenes were vastly different from those from the coastal flooding in 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, which prompted high-profile protection projects focused on waterfront areas vulnerable to storm surge and sea-level rise.

The recent deluges highlight how heavy rains have been largely left out of the equation, experts told THE CITY. 

By Samantha Maldonado. Read the full article here.