Hurricanes and New York City
Since 1900, the United States has faced many hurricanes, beginning with the destruction of Galveston. History reveals hurricanes have threatened New York City every century, an "American Experience" episode was dedicated to the event. Winds reached 70 mph when the hurricane hit the Long Island coast. New York City's Office of Emergency Management Hurricane page also lists hurricanes dating from 1821, when every street south of Canal Street was flooded.The New York metropolitan transportation system is particularly vulnerable to disruption by major storms even at present, since most area rail and tunnel points of entry as well as the three major airports lie at elevations of 10 feet or less.
Do Now
- Peruse the U.S. Storm Disaster Timeline. Create one of your own, using this worksheet. Scale the time axis to include the years between 1600 and 2000.
- Create "word balloons" to attach to the appropriate date on your timeline. Write a sentence or two describing the storm that hit the American mainland on that date.
- Make sure to include the "Great Hurricane" and the "Gale."
Hurricane Katrina
- Charlie Rose
- ITN News Report
- New Orleans, One Year Later
- St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans
- Beau Rivage, Biloxi
- Chocolate City
- Weather Paparazzi
- New Orleans Waltz
- Find your home on the NYC Hurricane Evacuation Zone map. Answer the following questions.
- Are you in Zone A, B, or C?
- Where is your nearest evacuation center?
- Design an escape route, including subway contingencies.
- Develop your own evacuation plan. Make sure to include your
- Contact your Evacuation Center either by phone or in writing. Ask them for any evacuation plan or other information the school may already have in place.
Weather Underground
