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NYC Community Flood Watch Project
In New York City, residents and scientists are working together to understand risk, capture flooding impacts, and brainstorm solutions.
"Flood Watch" Origin Story
In the past decade, residents in low-lying neighborhoods around Jamaica Bay started noticing that high tides were regularly flooding streets that used to stay dry.
Jamaica Bay is located in the southern parts of Brooklyn and Queens (Shaded area is an approximation of the watershed boundaries within NYC limits).
Water level measurements provided even more evidence to explain the phenomenon. With sea-level rise, high tides were getting higher - high enough to occasionally flood streets even on sunny days. That trend is expected to continue. Without intervention, future high tide flooding in NYC will be more frequent and widespread ( NPCC, 2019 ).
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Use the slider to compare high tide in 2020 to projected high tide in 2080, based on NPCC (NYC Panel on Climate Change) projections. To explore more from the source, see the NYC Flood Hazard Mapper from the NYC Dept. of City Planning.
The Community Flood Watch Project, aka "Flood Watch," began as a way to gather and share standardized information about street-level flooding in New York City.
Flood Watch is coordinated by the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay and New York Sea Grant , with support from the Mayor's Office of Resiliency. Work is done in partnership with community-based organizations throughout Jamaica Bay, Coney Island and the Bronx.
The Potential of Flood Watch
Flood Watch is more than flood reports. It is founded on the idea that community resilience can be built through the active exchange of knowledge between residents, researchers, and governments.
Residents know more than anyone else about the flooding in their neighborhoods. Scientists (including those at the National Weather Service) can use local knowledge to better understand flood dynamics and to improve forecasts and models. Governments can use local knowledge to make decisions about budgets, policies, and projects.
Flood Watch is a collaborative sharing of resources and information between residents, scientists and government.
With more complete datasets of local flooding knowledge, scientists can provide more accurate information and governments can make more informed decisions. Perhaps more importantly, communication between these three players will build new social networks.
A Day in the Flood Watch Life
This section provides examples of how Flood Watch currently works and highlights some of the data collected so far.
Scenario 1: December 17, 2020 Nor'Easter
The National Weather Service has issued a Coastal Storm advisory for the entire region, and the Stevens Flood Advisory System is predicting minor to moderate flooding at certain stations around Jamaica Bay.
The day before the storm, the National Weather Service issued these warnings, calling out the potential for elevated flood risk around Jamaica Bay.
As people hunker down for the storm, the Flood Watch Coordinator sends out an email alert describing the high tide times and expected flood levels. As of yet, no one knows exactly how bad the flooding will be, which streets will be affected, and how long it will last. The snowfall is added layer of complication. So, we wait as photos start streaming in through Facebook , email, and the Community Flood Watch Reporting Tool .
Scenario 2: Nov. 15, 2020 New Moon
The new and full moon lead to more extreme high and low tides, due to the combined gravitational pull when the sun and the moon are aligned.
With the new moon on Nov. 15, high tides are higher than normal due to the combined gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. The wind is 14 mph from the West in the morning, but in the evening there are gusts up to 30 mph from the Northwest. Otherwise, it's a sunny day - there was no precipitation recorded at JFK Airport.
Overall: Flood Reports since May 2020
In May 2020, Flood Watch launched a new reporting tool using Survey123 to collect critical flood information.
The following slideshow describes the data collected as of February 2021.
Future Vision: What Flood Watch Could Be
The future of Flood Watch depends on the participation and feedback of residents and community groups. By continuing to further the exchange of information between communities, researchers, and governments, we hope to apply Flood Watch data and partnerships such that:
- Flood Watch is a locus of communication and information sharing.
- Local flood data and alerts help residents and cities prepare for flood events.
- Local flood data inspire action.
How to Join Flood Watch
Email FloodWatchNYC@srijb.org for questions, feedback, or to stay in touch for future communication about the Community Flood Watch Project.