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99 It’s only natural for us as human beings to worry about passing through any tunnel, let alone an underwater tunnel. We see that ominous black tunnel opening. We feel that the tunnel is too long and too dark. Some people even suffer from clinical tunnel phobia. They experience shortness of breath, palpitations , chest pains, and trembling. Notwithstanding those everyday fears and clinical phobias, traffic experts tell us that traveling through a tunnel is statistically safer than driving on an open road in the countryside in the sun. That reassuring advice is counterintuitive, but the explanation might be that people driving through tunnels are paying more attention to their driving.1 Most of the time, motorists pass through the Holland and Lincoln tunnels with complete safety, but there are underlying risks that we usually do not normally think about. In this chapter, we first deal with hazards that are natural , such as flooding. We then follow up with hazards that are unintentional and human-related such as collisions and fires. We will deal with intentional terroristic acts in a later chapter. A recent major study under the leadership of Professor Guy Nordenson of Princeton University indicates that, within the next fifty years, the waters of the New York–New Jersey Upper Bay may rise by as much as a foot due to global warming. In the next hundred years, the rise might be as much as two feet. This dramatic sea level rise will undoubtedly lead to an increase in flooding . It’s not just the increase in sea level that alarms experts; rather, it’s the combination of rising sea levels with the increased number and severity of storms such as hurricanes. The destructive power of hurricanes comes from their high wind speeds and accompanying storm surges. The New York City region is said to be highly susceptible to storm surge, with adverse impacts on the transportation infrastructure.2 Road Hazards threats to life and property chapter 6 I According to the Environmental Defense Fund, most New York City subway and tunnel entrances are only slightly above sea level, as are the three major airports. This situation leaves them vulnerable to rising seas and flooding from hurricanes. It is predicted that, as the planet Earth warms over this century, weather extremes will be more frequent and storms more violent. As the sea level rises, storm surges are likely to go farther inland and do more damage. In these discussions, scientists often use the term “a one-hundredyear flood.” For most of us, as laypersons, that seems to mean that we don’t have to worry because that flood won’t happen until one hundred years go by. Alas, that’s not what the term means. It means that in any given year, there is a 1 percent chance of such a flood. Even worse, what’s called a hundred-year- flood today could easily become twice or even four times more frequent, with the increase in sea level and water temperature.3 Environmentalists predict that frequent flooding could shut down tunnels , subways, major roadways, and airports, ruining business and bringing the city to its knees. A look at past storms gives us some idea of what may lie ahead. Consider the Great Northeaster of December 11, 1992, that flooded airports and roadways and resulted in nine deaths. The National Weather Service called this storm “one of the epic storms of all time,” and it caused insured losses of $850 million. The total damages came to nearly $2 billion. High storm surges caused mandatory evacuations in some coastal areas, and the Red Cross sheltered 300,000 people. The FDR Drive was flooded, and rescue divers were called in to rescue trapped motorists.4 During that storm, in the Hoboken, New Jersey, PATH station, floodwaters poured down staircases and filled the tracks with water. As a result, commuter service between New Jersey and New York City was canceled for ten days.5 What kind of damage might we expect in the future? Let us consider a worst-case scenario. Experts predict that a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour, could create storm surges that would flood Kennedy Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and the Lincoln Tunnel. Rescue efforts would be paralyzed, and millions would be trapped in a situation reminiscent of the fate of New Orleans, wrecked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. What about a less severe Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of...

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