Flooding is becoming a more significant and frequent issue worldwide due to climate change, and residents in New York City are facing increased risks of being displaced from their homes.
What's happening?
As detailed by the Guardian in August, residents living in basement apartments across the city are in danger of losing their homes over the next few years as rainstorms and extreme weather worsen. A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed that "more than 4,000 basement units house lower-income renters in areas at risk of major flooding," per the Guardian.
When Hurricane Ida throttled New York City with record rainfall and excessive floodwaters in September 2021, 13 New Yorkers died, 11 of whom drowned in basement apartments. In addition to those deaths, "hundreds more" were "displaced after flooding rendered their living quarters uninhabitable," the Guardian noted.
To make matters worse, the Guardian warned that the extreme rainfall experienced during Hurricane Ida is "a preview of what the area can expect thanks to a warming planet." According to climate science commissioned by the city government, New York City is likely to experience as much as 10% more rain over the next decade.
The dire situation has opened the eyes of residents who are now aware of how deadly extreme flooding and hurricanes can be.
"To be honest, I don't like thinking about it … Even right now, I panic when I hear the word 'rain,'" a homeowner in East Elmhurst, Queens, told the Guardian. "When they're expecting rain in the night-time, me and my husband are awake."
Why is this important?
With sea levels rising and extreme weather events becoming more frequent due to global warming, the risk of flooding is expected to worsen. These threats can be especially disastrous for basement apartments that are already prone to water damage.
Underground residencies in New York City were estimated at about 100,000 in 2008. Many of these apartments are illegal because they don't conform to codes. Low ceilings and a lack of full windows make them hazardous to disasters like fires and flooding.
"Those apartments are in a very special position where they are affordable, but that affordability comes at a very steep price during intense rain," Yana Kucheva, a City College of New York sociology professor who studies housing and environmental justice, told the Guardian.
What's being done about this?
Mayor Eric Adams' administration has made an effort to address these issues by crafting a proposal that would alter some of the zoning rules that hindered homeowners from upgrading their basements into legal apartments. A new state program was approved that allows legal basement apartments in 15 areas of the city.
Annetta Seecharran, executive director at Chhaya, a nonprofit group focused on the South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities in Queens, called the proposals "groundbreaking" and said they marked "major progress" over the last three years. However, Seecharran also noted that basement tenants have largely been dealing with the same material conditions since Hurricane Ida.
The Adams administration has tried to mitigate this by improving communication and community outreach to warn residents of possible flooding before extreme rainfall occurs. This past summer, drones outfitted with loudspeakers were flown over flood-prone neighborhoods to warn residents before severe rainstorms.
The city's emergency management agency, which sends out warnings about flash floods and heavy rains, created a new list for basement residents that now has more than 5,000 subscribers.
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