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A Geospatial Analysis of Sea Level Rise and Flooding of Queens, New York

New York City and New Jersey faced some of the most devastating impacts from the October 2012 storm, Hurricane Sandy. Queens County encountered major flooding and property damage from the storm, in areas along the coastline and low-lying areas. Also shown by more recent flooding events, Queens is especially susceptible to flooding and it is particularly important to take a closer look at because it is the largest borough by land area, and the second most populous borough in New York City. Using ArcGIS, we modeled how sea-level rise would impact Queens and identified areas most prone to flooding under different scenarios by the end of the 21st century. The first is a low-end scenario of 2-feet, a high-end scenario of 5-feet, and a Hurricane Sandy-like scenario that includes sea-level rise and a storm surge. A comprehensive approach was also considered when looking into the demographics of people who will be affected by future extreme weather events. Future work is planned to investigate potential strategies to minimize the effects of future flooding, such as mitigation and adaptation tactics, in hopes of preventing severe impacts from future storms as much as possible.