
Matrix VP Andrew Raichle Quoted in Time Article About Hurricane Resiliency
The East Coast May Not Be Ready for Hurricane Joaquin Time Magazine (online), Posted October 1, 2015 by Justin Worland
Download PDF of this article >Public officials along the East Coast mobilized to protect their communities on Thursday as Hurricane Joaquin continued moving northward from the Caribbean with the potential to hit some of the most populated parts of the U.S., including many already in states of emergency like Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. But despite the early response from leaders, disaster experts say the region still lacks many key protection measures nearly three years after Superstorm Sandy devastated the area.
The devastation and cost of Sandy exposed the deep lack of preparation for killer hurricanes in New York City. The $71 billion in damage shocked federal, state and local governments into committing billions of dollars to a number of large-scale projects to make locations in the New York-New Jersey resilient to hurricanes area.
“For the past few years, my career has been overwhelmed with the word resiliency,” said Andrew Raichle, a vice president at environmental engineering company Matrix New World. “If Sandy didn’t happen, that wouldn’t have happened.”
WATCH VIDEO: Andy Raichle discusses coastal resiliency >With money allocated, changes are on the way—but they may still take decades to bear fruit. Many projects remain incomplete due to funding and planning delays, among other hold ups. In Ocean County, New Jersey, for instance, a $512-million project
But while hard infrastructure has lagged, preparation has been easier to coordinate at a local level, according to Raichle. Many coastal homeowners have raised their homes, high rise apartments have developed hurricane preparedness plans and hospitals have moved generators to the roof. Local governments are also better prepared than they were three years ago and have improved storm response plans. They’re now paying closer attention to storm surge—the extreme flooding that can occur when hurricane winds push elevated sea levels far into land, which was responsible for much of the damage done by Sandy. Since that storm, national weather forecasters have issued more precise predictions that local disaster response officials can use to prepare, according to University of Maryland Senior Research Engineer Sandra Knight.
The New York City region is often considered one of the four cities that would be most vulnerable
The New York City region is often considered one of the four cities that would be most vulnerable
“We’re at a critical junction in the nation where we’re going to see rising impact of coastal storm impacts because more people move to the coast and that coupled with climate change,” said Knight.
Still, Hurricane Joaquin may turn out to be a dud for the East Coast if the storm veers out into the Atlantic Ocean, as many models suggest, rather than hitting the Atlantic seaboard. But experts remain concerned about flooding due to rain and wind along the coast from a separate storm. Rain has already caused widespread flooding and is expected to continue in the coming days. And even if Joaquin doesn’t hit the coast, the hurricane is large enough to cause problems along the coast, including increased storm surge. (Sandy caused high winds as far as 1,000 miles away from its center).
“They’re not out of the woods by any means,” said Jeff Waters, a manager at RMS, a risk management company. “There are a variety of factors that will be impacting the eastern seaboard over the next couple days.”
Download PDF of Coastal Resiliency Engineering Services >Formed in 1990, Matrix is a leading woman-owned full-service engineering and environmental services firm. Matrix is working on a wide range of infrastructure, building and environmental projects for public and private-sector clients throughout the United States. The Florham Park, NJ-based company has offices in the Northeast as well as Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, New Hampshire, Delaware, California, and Arizona.
For more information on this firm, contact Dennis Petrocelli at 800.747.MATRIX, dpetrocelli@matrixneworld.com