Primary Hazard Profile
10 hazards documented · 0 citywide exposure · 0 worsening with climate change
| Hazard | Exposure | Severity | Probability | Climate trend | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coastal Erosioncoastal-erosionLocation[{"name": "New York City southern shore", "noted_for": "At greatest risk due to exposure to wave action from the Atlantic Ocean and multiple bays", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Areas along New York City's southern shore are at greatest risk, since they are exposed to wave action from the Atlantic Ocean and to the waters of many bays, including Lower New York, Gravesend, Raritan, and Jamaica Bay.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Atlantic Ocean", "noted_for": "Source of wave action affecting southern shore erosion risk", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Areas along New York City's southern shore are at greatest risk, since they are exposed to wave action from the Atlantic Ocean and to the waters of many bays", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Lower New York Bay", "noted_for": "One of the bays contributing to erosion risk on NYC's southern shore", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "exposed to wave action from the Atlantic Ocean and to the waters of many bays, including Lower New York, Gravesend, Raritan, and Jamaica Bay.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Gravesend Bay", "noted_for": "One of the bays contributing to erosion risk on NYC's southern shore", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "exposed to wave action from the Atlantic Ocean and to the waters of many bays, including Lower New York, Gravesend, Raritan, and Jamaica Bay.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Raritan Bay", "noted_for": "One of the bays contributing to erosion risk on NYC's southern shore", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "exposed to wave action from the Atlantic Ocean and to the waters of many bays, including Lower New York, Gravesend, Raritan, and Jamaica Bay.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Jamaica Bay", "noted_for": "One of the bays contributing to erosion risk; also part of the USACE Rockaway Coastal Storm Protection area with a Storm Surge Barrier under development", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "exposed to wave action from the Atlantic Ocean and to the waters of many bays, including Lower New York, Gravesend, Raritan, and Jamaica Bay.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}, {"text": "The New York City coastal area between East Rockaway Inlet and Rockaway Inlet, encompassing Jamaica Bay and the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, is actively enhancing its storm risk management measures to protect over 850,000 residents and critical infrastructure from flooding.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "East Rockaway Inlet", "noted_for": "Western boundary of the USACE Rockaway Coastal Storm Protection area", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The New York City coastal area between East Rockaway Inlet and Rockaway Inlet, encompassing Jamaica Bay and the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, is actively enhancing its storm risk management measures", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Rockaway Inlet", "noted_for": "Eastern boundary of the USACE Rockaway Coastal Storm Protection area", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The New York City coastal area between East Rockaway Inlet and Rockaway Inlet, encompassing Jamaica Bay and the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, is actively enhancing its storm risk management measures", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Rockaway Peninsula", "noted_for": "Site of composite seawall construction with 18-foot or greater dune elevation and 60-foot-wide design berm as part of USACE coastal storm protection", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Key initiatives include the construction of a composite seawall along the Rockaway Peninsula, featuring an 18-foot or greater dune elevation and a 60-foot-wide design berm, with construction of the groins currently in progress.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Coney Island (Brooklyn)", "noted_for": "Part of the USACE Rockaway Coastal Storm Protection area; subject to active storm risk management measures", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The New York City coastal area between East Rockaway Inlet and Rockaway Inlet, encompassing Jamaica Bay and the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, is actively enhancing its storm risk management measures to protect over 850,000 residents and critical infrastructure from flooding.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}] | false | Coastal erosion can be rapid or gradual, with gradual erosion difficult to measure due to natural variability and human interventions such as dredging or beach nourishmen... | Gradual coastal erosion is essentially a given, because it is a continuous natural process that affects coastlines in New York City and around the world. | increase|medium | |
Coastal Stormscoastal-stormsLocation[{"name": "NYC Hurricane Evacuation Zones", "noted_for": "Areas of the city likely to experience inundation from different categories of storms, based on SLOSH model calculations", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The NYC Hurricane Evacuation Zones map shows areas of the city likely to experience inundation from different categories of storms, based on the SLOSH model calculations.", "section": "Coastal Storm Attributes/Characteristics > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Category 1 hurricane inundation areas (red areas)", "noted_for": "Areas that could be inundated by storm surge in a worst-case scenario from a Category 1 hurricane", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The red areas on the map represent the areas of the city that could be inundated by storm surge in a worst-case scenario from a Category 1 hurricane.", "section": "Coastal Storm Attributes/Characteristics > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "New York City Coastal Storm Plan (CSP) evacuation zones", "noted_for": "Zones developed using SLOSH MEOW data to guide evacuation planning for coastal storms", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "NYCEM utilizes SLOSH data to develop evacuation zones for the New York City Coastal Storm Plan (CSP). Evacuation zones are based on a SLOSH output called Maximum Envelope of Water (MEOW).", "section": "Coastal Storm Attributes/Characteristics > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "New York City metro region tidal gauge locations", "noted_for": "Locations where MHHW and MLLW tidal data references are used ahead of impending coastal flood events", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The two most common tidal data references that are used for tidal gauges around the New York City metro region ahead of an impending coastal flood event include Mean Higher High Water (MHHW) and Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW).", "section": "Coastal Storm Attributes/Characteristics > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}] | false | The severity of a tropical cyclone depends on multiple factors and is primarily related to potential, expected, or experienced impacts. | NHC forecasts storm tide heights for tropical storms and hurricanes on a probabilistic basis and updates its forecasts regularly as specific storms approach landfall. | increase|medium | |
DroughtdroughtLocation[{"name": "Drought Region IIA", "noted_for": "The drought management region in which New York City is classified by NYS DEC", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "New York City is in Drought Region IIA ; however, most of its watershed lies to the north in Region II", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Region II", "noted_for": "The drought management region to the north where most of New York City's watershed lies", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "most of its watershed lies to the north in Region II, as shown in the map titled New York State Drought Management Regions", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}] | false | The severity of drought in NYC is measured through a three-phase system: drought watch, drought warning, and drought emergency. | Occasional drought is a normal, recurrent feature of virtually every climate in the United States. | increase|high | |
EarthquakesearthquakesLocation[{"name": "Manhattan's Chinatown", "noted_for": "Built on land created by filling in a large pond, making it susceptible to soil amplification and liquefaction during earthquakes", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Manhattan's present-day Chinatown is on land created by filling in a large pond", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "World's Fair Park, Flushing, Queens", "noted_for": "Built on an ash dump, making it susceptible to soil amplification and liquefaction during earthquakes", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "the World's Fair Park site in Flushing, Queens, was built on an ash dump", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "JFK Airport, Brooklyn's south shore", "noted_for": "Built atop a hydraulic sand fill, making it susceptible to soil amplification and liquefaction during earthquakes", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "JFK Airport on Brooklyn's south shore was built atop a hydraulic sand fill", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}] | false | Earthquake severity is measured using the Moment Magnitude scale, a logarithmic scale where each point represents an energy release 32 times larger than the preceding poi... | The National Seismic Hazard Model assesses ground shaking hazards arising from potentially damaging earthquakes within the United States and its territories. | mixed|low | |
Extreme Heatextreme-heatLocation[{"name": "High building density areas", "noted_for": "Areas with highest building density, most vehicle traffic, highest concentrations of heat-trapping built structures, and least vegetation have higher temperatures", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "areas with the highest building density, most vehicle traffic, highest concentrations of heat-trapping built structures, and the least vegetation have higher temperatures", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "NYC hotspots (areas lacking vegetation)", "noted_for": "Areas that lack any type of vegetation, where residents are most exposed to high-heat events, particularly those without air-conditioning", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "New York City hotspots are generally areas that lack any type of vegetation. New Yorkers living in these areas of the city are most exposed to high-heat events, particularly among residents who do not have access to air-conditioning.", "section": "What Is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}] | false | The National Weather Service uses a heat index chart to determine the effects particular combinations of temperature and humidity will have on the general population. | Official temperature readings for New York City are taken near Belvedere Castle in Central Park, although temperatures vary throughout the city. | increase|high | |
FloodingfloodingLocation[{"name": "New York City shoreline (520-mile)", "noted_for": "Coastal flooding can occur anywhere along this shoreline", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Coastal flooding can occur anywhere along New York City's 520-mile shoreline, but the severity of the hazard varies widely across the city.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Jamaica Bay", "noted_for": "Coastal marshland flooding and tidal flooding risk", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Floods can potentially affect stretches of coastal marshland in Jamaica Bay, residential neighborhoods with small wood-frame bungalows, and large multifamily buildings.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Manhattan (dense commercial districts)", "noted_for": "Particularly affected by coastal flooding", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "It also particularly affects housing developments in the floodplain, along oceanfront beaches, in Manhattan's dense commercial districts, and in industrial and post-industrial areas along New York Harbor.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "New York Harbor (industrial and post-industrial areas)", "noted_for": "Particularly affected by coastal flooding", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "in industrial and post-industrial areas along New York Harbor. According to the 2020 NYC's Floodplain by the Numbers, approximately 440,000 people live within the 1 percent annual chance floodplain.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": false}]}, {"name": "Staten Island", "noted_for": "Most vulnerable to riverine flooding; flooding from streams and river networks along south shore and mid-island", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Staten Island and the Bronx are the boroughs most vulnerable to riverine flooding due to the watershed characteristics in those boroughs.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}, {"text": "On Staten Island, flooding can come from streams and river networks along the south shore and mid-island.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "The Bronx", "noted_for": "Most vulnerable to riverine flooding; flooding from Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Staten Island and the Bronx are the boroughs most vulnerable to riverine flooding due to the watershed characteristics in those boroughs. The Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers can create floods in the Bronx.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Bronx River", "noted_for": "Can create floods in the Bronx", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers can create floods in the Bronx.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Hutchinson River", "noted_for": "Can create floods in the Bronx", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers can create floods in the Bronx.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Broad Channel", "noted_for": "Most pronounced risk of regular tidal flooding; lowest-lying area in NYC", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The risk of regular tidal flooding is most pronounced in the lowest-lying areas in New York City — such as in the Broad Channel and Hamilton Beach neighborhoods in and around Jamaica Bay in southeastern Queens", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Hamilton Beach", "noted_for": "Most pronounced risk of regular tidal flooding; lowest-lying area in NYC near Jamaica Bay", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The risk of regular tidal flooding is most pronounced in the lowest-lying areas in New York City — such as in the Broad Channel and Hamilton Beach neighborhoods in and around Jamaica Bay in southeastern Queens", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Rockaway Peninsula (bay side)", "noted_for": "Pronounced risk of regular tidal flooding", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "on portions of the bay side of Rockaway Peninsula, and in low-lying sections of Staten Island.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "New York Bight", "noted_for": "Geography increases storm surge effect by funneling water into New York Harbor", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The geography of the New York Bight — the right angle formed by Long Island and New Jersey — increases the effect of storm surge by funneling the water into New York Harbor", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Long Island", "noted_for": "Forms the New York Bight, contributing to storm surge funneling into New York Harbor", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The geography of the New York Bight — the right angle formed by Long Island and New Jersey — increases the effect of storm surge by funneling the water into New York Harbor", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "New Jersey", "noted_for": "Forms the New York Bight, contributing to storm surge funneling into New York Harbor", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "The geography of the New York Bight — the right angle formed by Long Island and New Jersey — increases the effect of storm surge by funneling the water into New York Harbor", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "1 percent annual chance floodplain", "noted_for": "Approximately 440,000 people live within this floodplain", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "approximately 440,000 people live within the 1 percent annual chance floodplain. This number nearly doubles to over 780,000 when adding the population in the 0.2 percent annual chance floodplain.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "0.2 percent annual chance floodplain", "noted_for": "Over 780,000 people when combined with 1 percent annual chance floodplain population", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "This number nearly doubles to over 780,000 when adding the population in the 0.2 percent annual chance floodplain.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Oceanfront beaches", "noted_for": "Particularly affected by coastal flooding", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "It also particularly affects housing developments in the floodplain, along oceanfront beaches, in Manhattan's dense commercial districts", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}] | false | — | — | increase|high | |
High Windshigh-windsNo additional detail indexed. | — | — | High winds and severe weather frequently affect New York City. | unclear|low | |
Poor Air Qualitypoor-air-qualityLocation[{"name": "Industrial zones", "noted_for": "Higher concentrations of NO2, NO, and PM2.5 due to diesel truck traffic", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Concentrations of NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide), NO (Nitric Oxide), and PM2.5 are higher in industrial zones with more diesel truck traffic, neighborhoods with large numbers of restaurants, and areas of higher traffic and building density.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Neighborhoods with large numbers of restaurants", "noted_for": "Higher concentrations of NO2, NO, and PM2.5", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Concentrations of NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide), NO (Nitric Oxide), and PM2.5 are higher in industrial zones with more diesel truck traffic, neighborhoods with large numbers of restaurants, and areas of higher traffic and building density.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Areas of higher traffic and building density", "noted_for": "Higher concentrations of NO2, NO, and PM2.5", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "Concentrations of NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide), NO (Nitric Oxide), and PM2.5 are higher in industrial zones with more diesel truck traffic, neighborhoods with large numbers of restaurants, and areas of higher traffic and building density.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Densely populated zones", "noted_for": "Higher measurements of PM2.5", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "higher measurements of PM2.5 are found in densely populated and industrial zones of the city", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Rockaway Peninsula", "noted_for": "Highest ozone levels in the city; one of the lowest density areas, mostly isolated from the rest of the city by Jamaica Bay", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "ozone levels were highest on the Rockaway Peninsula, one of the lowest density areas in the city, and mostly isolated from the rest of the city by Jamaica Bay.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Jamaica Bay", "noted_for": "Geographic feature isolating the Rockaway Peninsula from the rest of the city, contributing to higher ozone levels in that area", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "ozone levels were highest on the Rockaway Peninsula, one of the lowest density areas in the city, and mostly isolated from the rest of the city by Jamaica Bay.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}, {"name": "Low-income neighborhoods (environmental justice sites)", "noted_for": "Additional monitoring sites to better understand potential sources of emissions", "supporting_quotes": [{"text": "To better understand potential sources of emissions in low-income neighborhoods, an additional 15 environmental justice sites are also included.", "section": "What is the Hazard? > Location", "verbatim_match": true}]}] | false | Poor air quality in New York City is driven by PM2. | Air quality action days are announced when ozone or PM2. | increase|low | |
WildfireswildfiresNo additional detail indexed. | — | The severity of a wildfire is determined by the type and amount of fuel available, the weather conditions present, and how the fire interacts with the surrounding environ... | — | — | |
Winter Weatherwinter-weatherNo additional detail indexed. | — | — | — | mixed|high |