Unit 2: Application of Concepts to Case Studies

In this unit, you will begin to apply and evaluate the foundational concepts about storm hazard and risk you have learned in Unit 1 to two major storm events: Superstorm Sandy (2012) and the Storm of the Century (1993). Through different activities and assignments, you will develop skills for finding, evaluating, and relating data to these case studies, while considering community preparedness, response, and resilience.

Homework from Unit 1 (to be done before starting Unit 2)

Follow-up work from last class:

HMP Activity and Materials:

• You will complete your HMP Activity HMP Analysis Memo (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 22kB Jul16 24); also available as a PDF (Acrobat (PDF) 99kB Jul16 24)
• FEMA, Mitigation Ideas: A Resource to Reducing Risk to Natural Hazards,download available
• The Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR)/Implementation Plans

Preparation work for this class:

Readings on Superstorm Sandy:

• Superstorm Sandy: Hurricane Sandy Retrospective Analysis 2014 New York City Hazard Mitigation Plan, Chapter 3, pages 203-212;
• The Science Behind Superstorm Sandy's Crippling Storm Surge, an article from Scientific American;
• Superstorm Sandy Anniversary, an article from the Weather Channel.

Readings on 1993 Storm of the Century:

• The Blizzard of '93: The Overview, an article from the New York Times;
• Blizzard of '93: Why Was It the Storm of the Century?, an article from AccuWeather;
• Superstorm: Eastern and Central U.S., March 1993, an article from Popular Mechanics.

Unit 2.1

In this class, you will be working on the Sea level Activity (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 30kB Oct10 24) in class, though you may need extra time to complete it for homework (ask your instructor). It may be useful to read through the Coastal Resilience Tool Step-by-Step Guide (Acrobat (PDF) 642kB Aug8 16) before this class to get a feel for how to navigate the maps you will need to complete the assignment.

Homework Unit 2.1

For homework, you will use your new skills to critically evaluate geoscience data and translate that data into a risk communication instrument for a general audience, also known as a press release! In this exercise, you will read examples of weather-related press releases from government entities, and using these examples as a model, you will critically assess their local hazard mitigation plans for a specific storm event. You will then develop a press release to communicate risk related to your assigned storm and timeline stage. You must come to class prepared to share your press release with a peer for review using this Press Release 1st Draft Rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 20kB Jul20 24). You will have the opportunity to revise your press release based on the feedback you receive. Revising previous work helps you to understand the process of how policies and risk communications are developed as new information becomes available.

Unit 2.2

In this class, you will review the results of your Sea Level Rise Activity from the previous class, before spending time with a classmate reviewing your press releases.

Additional Resources for Unit 2

• As a way to familiarize yourself with data available on storms, you may wish to review a couple of examples, using maps of sea level risk for NYC published in 2008 and maps of storm surge risk for the same areas created and published by Public Radio of New York's WNYC Data News.
• For more information about the two case studies, you can watch videos about the events. For Hurricane Sandy: National Geographic's Superstorm New York: What Really Happened PBS's Nova: Inside the Megastorm, or numerous short clips from news agencies. For the 1993 Super Storm (Storm of the Century), commentary is available online ( 20th Anniversary of the Blizzard of 1993).
• Additional information is available from non-profit agencies such as Coastal Care, with special reports on risk mediation efforts in NYC after Hurricane Sandy, and storm surge discussions by weather agencies like the National Hurricane Center and the Weather Underground.