NYC has seen its 4 most intense storms in the past 4 years. What's being done about it?
An intense rain storm swept through New York City on Thursday, causing flash flooding and two deaths. It was the latest deadly storm to put a strain on the city's infrastructure and renew concerns about basement apartments.
So what is the city doing to address the problem, and what more can be done?
"Crazy rain storms that our infrastructure was never designed to deal with"
The city's sewer system is designed to accommodate about 1.75 inches of rainfall per hour. Thursday's storm, however, brought rain at a rate that could've meant 6 inches per hour, DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala said.
"We all know that climate change has brought us these crazy rain storms that our infrastructure was never designed to deal with. The four most intense storms in New York City's history have taken place in the last four years," Aggarwala said. "Yesterday, what caused all the flooding is the fact that we had 1 inch of rain in 10 minutes."
Aggarwala said the department received more than 800 calls in two hours about flooding alone. Despite having 38 crews positioned across the city, there was no way to respond to so many calls in such a short amount of time, he said.
Leaves can clog catch basins, even if they're clean
"One of the things that really hurt us yesterday, in contrast -- yesterday was a very similar rain storm to the rain we got on July 14. In July, there was a lot of flash flooding, it receded very quickly. What we had yesterday, though, was exacerbated by the fact that it's the fall, and there are all these leaves on the ground," said Aggarwala.
"Some of the flooding that, I think you just showed, particularly in one neighborhood in Brooklyn, the catch basins were clear, they were working properly," he said. "The rain flows in, it brings all of the leaves, covers over the catch basins, and all of a sudden, you've got a flooding situation.
"When our crews, along with [NYPD] and Sanitation arrived, in some of those catch basins, there was a foot of wet leaves that they had to scrape out in order to get the water to go down the drain."
What steps does the DEP take ahead of these storms?
The department issues a Flash Flood Plan to alert New Yorkers. That includes sending Notify NYC text messages and emails warning of flash flooding and urging people to move to higher ground. New Yorkers must enroll to receive these messages.
Aggarwala said crews also work to clear the city's 150,000 catch basins ahead of each storm. Four years ago, there were 5,000 waiting to be cleaned on any given day, but that number is now down to a couple hundred, according to Aggarwala.
"That's a lot of what we do, because that's all we can really do in the days leading up to a storm," he said. "We've done a lot of work over the last several years to make sure that we are getting all of the value out of the existing sewer system."
Real change would require a costly and extensive overhaul of the system, which is more than 150 years old.
The commissioner said the city has also been holding workshops in neighborhoods, like Washington Heights, where a man died in a flooded basement during Thursday's storm.
"To help people understand how they can protect their homes and property, because, starting four years ago with Hurricane Ida and Hurricane Henri, we know that this kind of flooding is life-threatening for New Yorkers," said Aggarwala.
In wake of Hurricane Ida, which killed 11 people in flooded basements in the city, the DEP said it would start issuing specific "Basement Alerts" through the Notify NYC system.