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Map Hurricane Storm Surges

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Environmental Systems Research Institute ( UN Partner )

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Map hurrican storm surges aspect ratio 1920 1080

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Languages: English

A storm surge is an abnormal rise in sea level caused by the high winds and low pressure of a storm pushing water onto land. Storm surges are usually the most destructive and deadly aspects of hurricanes, and when such a surge floods a dense city, the toll can be particularly high.

SDG: SDG9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure; SDG11: Sustainable cities and communities; SDG13: Climate action

Subject: Water-resilient infrastructure

Statistics: Environment and multi-domain statistics

Keywords: infrastructure; resilient cities; water

Low lying coastal areas have always dealt with the threat of water, but as climate change raises sea levels and strengthens storms, the threat may overcome old defenses. Using elevation data, you can create simple models of storm surges and predict which areas will flood the next time a hurricane hits. This lesson focuses on New York City as a study area, but the same workflow can be repeated for any coastal area.