Is Rockland ready for the next big storm?

Jordan Fenster
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

If a major hurricane were to hit tomorrow, would the Lower Hudson Valley be ready?

Contributed
Hurricane Irene in 2011 caused this flooding at Squire's Gate.
Flooding at Squire's Gate as a result of Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Rockland County, at least, is as ready as it can be, according to Christopher Jensen.

“I would say we’re ready, but it’s a work in progress,” said Jensen, program coordinator for the Rockland County Office of Fire and Emergency Services. “Preparedness is something we do throughout the year.”

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Hurricane Irma has not yet hit the Florida coastline, and is nearly a week away from affecting the Lower Hudson Valley. But local municipalities have been watching the storm — and Hurricane Jose right behind it — for some time. 

“Just to talk about long-range forecasting, even though Irma is way far out, we started keeping an eye on the storm last week,” Jensen said. 

Rockland is not alone. Westchester County is planning a Friday storm preparedness update for the media and residents.

That being said, Jensen is aware that you can’t plan for everything. 

“We’re not going to eliminate flooding. We’re not going to stop power outages,” he said. “Mother Nature is very powerful.”

Some have blamed the extent of the devastation in Houston on lax zoning laws and unfettered development.

“You would have seen widespread damage with Harvey no matter what, but I have no doubt it could have been substantially reduced,” Jim Blackburn of Rice University’s storm prediction research center told the Washington Post. 

But Rockland County has, at least for the past 30 years or so, taken flood- and storm mitigation seriously, Jensen said. 

From right, Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Chris Jensen, program coordinator for Rockland's Office of Fire and Emergency Service, demonstrate water barriers acquired by the county. The barriers are a tool to combat flooding.

“I think we’ve learned from the lessons of the past,” he said. “Flooding is one of the primary hazards that we deal with in Rockland County and New York state.”

There was a major nor’easter in 1992, and Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999.

“In between we have had significant flooding events,” Jensen said, not to mention the remnants of Hurricane Katrina and Tropical Storm Tammy in 2005.  

In between each storm, Jensen said the county worked to improve its preparedness in several ways. Communication with towns and villages is regular. Coordination with utilities is ongoing, and Jensen said a significant amount of work has been done to strengthen the grid. Culverts have been replaced to allow more floodwater.

Coastal towns have worked to change zoning regulations to accommodate for storm surge but, after Hurricane Irene in 2011, “Inland flooding was a major issue in Rockland County,” Jensen said. 

“Our drainage agency has been working hard to closely monitor the 80 miles of county-regulated streams to make sure there are no obstructions and water can flow during the deluge that typically accompanies hurricanes,” County Executive Ed Day said. “We purchased temporary flood barriers that can be put up quickly in flood-prone areas. These barriers have not yet been put to use in Rockland County, but are ready at a moment’s notice.”

That hasn’t always been the case.

“Long before I worked for county government, back in the ’60s and ’70s, when Rockland was emerging, there was a lot of development that was going on here that was not properly regulated,” Jensen said, particularly noting the Squires Gate neighborhood. 

“The decision was made to allow people to build below the floodplain,” he said. “There have been some creative and aggressive strategies to make amends for our decisions of the past.”

Last year, Rockland County funded a $250,000 flood-mitigation study, which would determine whether it was possible to use a hydraulic siphon to divert water from the Mahwah River, and many homes built below the floodplain were bought by the federal government and demolished, Jensen said. 

And, as Day noted, “Just this summer, the federal government awarded the county $1.02 million to pay for repairs to the bank of the Minisceongo Creek in West Haverstraw, which was damaged during Hurricane Irene.”

While both Jensen and Day express confidence in the county’s ability to handle a major storm, they both repeated that preparedness is a continually moving goal line. 

“Emergency preparedness is not something that you start to think about when a hurricane or other natural disaster is headed your way,” Day said. “Emergency preparedness has to be a year-round effort.”