New York City officials were unprepared for last September’s torrential rains that flooded roads, homes and schools, according to a new report from the city’s comptroller’s office. city’s response.
The report released Monday by Auditor General Brad Lander highlights how city agencies handled Tropical Storm Ophelia, which brought severe damage to parts of the city on Sept. 29, 2023. 8.65 inches of rain came.
It was the wettest day in New York City since Hurricane Ida hit in September 2021. Record.
But despite promising changes to how extreme weather is notified and prepared, city officials still seemed surprised by the storm, Rand said.
He told a news conference on Monday that one thing crucial to ensuring genuine preparedness and building public confidence when a storm hits is an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
Rand said the biggest problem was that his team found that most of the city’s trucks used to clear debris from catchment basins were out of service on the day of the storm, with only 19 of the 51 trucks operating.
The health department maintains the trucks on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
That made it more difficult for DEP to inspect the 964 catchment basins it had prioritized for inspection (out of 153,000 total), clearing less than half of them before the storm.
The report found that a shortage of mechanics at DSNY has led to a maintenance backlog that will only get worse as time goes on. By the end of 2023, the number of trucks out of service will rise from 63% at the time of the storm to 77%.
Mayoral spokesperson Liz Garcia defended the administration’s response and noted that the auditor’s report contained numerous inaccuracies.
Since this administration took office, we have invested billions of dollars in climate infrastructure that is already starting to save lives and prevent property damage, just take the Jewel Street project, the first phase of our $75 million Flood management investments plunged the community into drought.
In the face of Tropical Storm Ophelia, which brought rainfall totals that exceeded those of Ida in parts of the city, our city agencies inspected more than 900 catch basins and distributed thousands of flood barriers, rain barrels and other protective tools, and informed millions of New Yorkers two days before the event.
Cleaning of catch basins requires the combined efforts of multiple agencies, she noted, adding that other agencies such as the Department of Transportation have cleaned more than 900 catch basins prone to clogging. She added that the DEP, along with the city’s Department of Administrative Services, is prioritizing the purchase of new trucks.
The auditor’s office also found flaws in New York City Emergency Management’s (NYCEM) notification system.
The office activated its emergency flood plan at 8:30 a.m. the day before the storm to coordinate with other agencies. But this proactive approach has not been effectively extended to public communications, the report said.
Landers’ team noted that the mayor’s first press conference about the storm was held at 11:40 a.m. on September 29, three hours after the storm began.The Ministry of Education first posted on social media at 12:35 p.m. on the day of the storm, and updated its website with information about school closures at 2:30 p.m.
The New York City Housing Authority sent out the robocall at 4:45 p.m., nine hours after the flooding began.
Most New Yorkers do not sign up for the event-specific NotifyNYC alert system; for example, the report found that only 2.7% of New Yorkers over the age of 16 signed up for flash flood warnings.
The report found that the basement apartment notification list had only 2,378 subscribers, less than 1% of the estimated number of people living in these residences in the city. The report notes that these residents are a particularly difficult population to reach because many basement apartments are not officially licensed and many speak languages other than English.
加西亞說，NotifyNYC 警報系統覆蓋了超過100 萬紐約人，緊急管理辦公室與DEP 合作，去年向洪水易發社區的人們分發了4,000 個防洪屏障、7,500 個雨水桶、500 個污水泵和500 個洪水sensor.
Extreme Weather Coordinator MIA
Another issue noted in the report is the extreme weather coordinator position, a position created by former Mayor Bill de Blasio in response to Hurricane Ida. According to reports, the coordinator position had not yet been filled on the day of the storm.
In the days after the storm, a spokesman for the mayor said City Hall had appointed someone internally to the role, but declined to say who.
Rand said the Adams administration told their team last month that Camille Joseph Varlack, the mayor’s chief of staff, had been appointed to the role, which would include coordinating with other agencies during weather emergencies. , and arrange drills for various situations.
“Under this administration, our extreme weather coordinator has always reported to the chief of staff, and as we continue to think about best practices around weather preparedness, that position has now been transferred to the chief of staff,” Garcia said in a statement. Joseph Varlack, although she would not say who the previous extreme weather coordinator was.
Related titles
#Auditor #general #finds #poor #communications #equipment #service #hampered #tropical #storm #response
Image Source : www.thecity.nyc