Anthony Eramo hunkered down in his Long Beach home with his two children during Superstorm Sandy. Like many of his neighbors, he didn’t evacuate. They weathered the storm during the first high tide. But in the evening the second high tide brought a surge of water.
“I ended up with five-and-a-half feet of water in my house. The bay breached first, actually the channel ran into the street. And then once that started to head down the block like a river, back north, we thought that was it. But then the water started to rise again, it took a few minutes to realize that it’s the ocean breach now, and I’m about a thousand feet from the ocean.”
The day after the storm, Eramo walked around his neighborhood and saw the damage. Homes had lost their foundation. Cars had burst into flames.
As the water receded, Eramo and his family had to figure out what they needed to do. If they wanted to stay.
“My wife and I decided that our options were to move or lift our home. And there was no chance we were moving, we love it here, we love our block, we love our neighbors. We weren’t going anywhere.”
Scientists say stronger storms and permanent flooding are in the near future for Long Island. So even though the Island still hasn’t fully recovered from the devastation of Sandy five years ago, residents are trying to prepare for the next big storm. Eramo says, "It seemed foolish to me, to not do something to prepare and mitigate for future storms."
According to a report commissioned by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, New York City could see a 15- to 75-inch sea level rise before the end of this century. Projections for Montauk Point run from 15 to 72 inches in sea level rise.
The Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit urban research group, recently published a study that showed the devastating impact that rising sea levels will have on the Long Island coastline.
Robert Freudenberg, vice president of energy and environment for the RPA, says, “Water doesn’t know municipal boundaries: this is an issue that all waterfront communities are going to need to face. Ultimately, we’re going to have to leave the areas that are most inundated by water. There is going to be a need, a plan for retreat from portions of our communities that are at greatest risk.”
Long Beach has been battling the problem by working with the Army Corps of Engineers to build sand dunes along their coast. The project costs $230 million and is expected to be completed next spring.
Jack Schnirman, city manager of Long Beach, says local governments are going to need federal help to mitigate damage from future storms, but they aren’t getting it.
“I think the Trump administration has lurched backwards into ignorance and denial when it comes to climate change. That kind of denial puts our homeland security at risk, our homes at risk, our quality of life at risk, and puts our economy at risk.”
Some Long Island residents are putting up seawalls to protect their property, but this just deflects the wave and water to their neighbors. It’s a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
Larry Swanson, associate dean at the Stony Brook School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, is working with small towns like Head of the Harbor on the north shore to develop strategies to combat rising sea levels.
“Eventually when you look at these physical changes that may be occurring, the government needs to lead the debate as to: do we let nature take its course, or do we stand and fight. And if we stand and fight, how much is it going to cost and are we willing to pay for it.”
Another potential solution is sediment spraying. The technique involves spraying sediment on the harbor islands to keep pace with rising sea levels.
A trial run in Jamaica Bay shows promise but it would cost millions of dollars, and small towns just can’t afford it. If it’s impossible to keep the water out, the only option would be to leave.
Anthony Eramo lifted his home to mitigate damage from future storms. He and his family have lived in Long Beach for 13 years, and they want to stay. But the future is bleak.
“I believe there will be future storms, I believe they are getting stronger. I think there is going to be one day, whether it’s a 100 years from now, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is no one living here.”
For the 7.5 million people living on Long Island, some of whom are still dealing with the aftermath of Sandy, the impending crisis can’t be ignored.
