Just saw on MSNBC: Liberty and Ellis Island: "Infrastructure is SHOT"

[thecrow]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49640734

"In some places, authorities were just beginning to assess the damage. A source told NBC 4 New York on Thursday that Liberty and Ellis islands sustained serious damage and said "the infrastructure is shot." The Statue of Liberty is OK, but the docks and grounds are in "bad shape." It's expected to take significant time before the islands reopen. "

[onehandle]

1. Symbols of immigration. Teahadists will shoot their guns in the air in celebration. nt

[StarryNite]

4. Yes...

they will say it was God's intention.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. ah fuck nt

[StarryNite]

3. Oh, no!

[nc4bo]

5. NPS.gov, October 31, 2012 Morning Report....

Some more at the link (loads very slowly, I'd post more but not sure of the paragraph quote limit).

http://home.nps.gov/morningreport/morningreportold.cfm

National Parks of New York Harbor – There is extensive flooding in Battery Park. Conditions at Castle Clinton are unknown as it is inaccessible. Con Edison is not sure when power will be restored. Subway and bus service is suspended. Most tunnels in/out of NYC are flooded.
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island – All electrical and mechanicals on Ellis Island are underwater; a fuel tank has been dislodged. Liberty Island may have lost all high voltage equipment.
National Capital Region – All parks are closed with several reporting light damage and debris. Flooding is possible over the next week from rising water levels in rivers and streams.
Assateague Island – Most of the island is still under water and will be until out of lunar cycle. Park will be closed on Wednesday. Walk-in campsites have been damaged, parking lots are covered with sand and Virginia parking lots sustained significant damage.

Sounds bad.

[magical thyme]

7. craps. Aren't there ponies on Assateague as well as Chincoteague?

Are they ok? We're they swum ashore in advance?

[thecrow]

11. They are all right!

See: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021685440

[randome]

6. I imagine all estimates of monetary damages will rise as more becomes known.

It's going to take the area a long time to recover from this.

And all the rebuilding could be shot down next year with another hurricane.

[thecrow]

8. Yes, I believe you are right

The rebuilding could be shot down with a certain Republican team in office as well. They would try to privatize it.
Unfortunately, I suspect the death toll will continue to rise until all buildings are checked. I don't know if the homeless people will ever be counted, somewhat like in Louisiana.

[kurt_cagle]

9. Rethinking, not rebuilding

We've entered into a new era. Rebuilding isn't going to do it anymore. After disasters of this magnitude, the first question that you ask is "will this happen again?" This will become a more and more pertinent question the longer the digging out phase takes. The subway system likely will need to partially if not wholly scrapped. Many buildings even in Manhattan will likely have become structurally unstable as months of exposure of beams in corrosive ocean water wears at the infrastructure, not to mention submerged electrical systems that will need to be completely replaced. Older buildings are even more likely to have been damaged.

As terrible as this is, it will now force reconsideration of some deep questions:
* How much of the infrastructure in New York is required by an increasingly electronically mobile workforce?
* What's the best mechanism for getting people into and out of a dense metropolis when wind and water are implacable enemies?
* What role does zoning play to insure that low-lying, vulnerable areas do not hold critical infrastructure?
* How much can electricity transmission, generation be decentralized? Buildings that generated their own power have an advantage here.
* Is it possible to "float" neighborhoods?

My belief is that we've probably passed a tipping point wrt climate change - things will revert back to a state of stability in the absence of human beings (after about 120 years of so), but barring that scary possibility, we are now forced to adapt to the situation by recognizing the new reality.

[thecrow]

12. Go into any beach community

and you will see all the houses are built right up to the beach.... even in Florida, the hotels are that way. The beach might be better to preserve as a natural preserve... for the birds and other creatures that live there. Better to house the people on the mainland, set back far so there is room for wetlands, estuaries, etc.
I don't know what NYC would do, though... build flodgates?

[GoCubsGo]

10. Damn. They just reopened it after renovations.

I am glad to hear that at least the statue is okay.