This week’s lesson about building stronger defense systems for flooding, still brings along an even harder question for home owners, should they stay of move? This has been a topic of discussion for section II of this course and it is one that is the most interesting to me. It changes my way of thinking for the future if I would ever want to move to a coastal area. I am now thinking of their flood defense systems, and how safe I would be, something I never thought of before. When I think of coastal areas, I always think of the Jersey Shore, probably because it is so close to me, and I vacation there every year. I found a New York Times article about how some Jersey residents are against paying for stronger flood defenses.
For three years, the plan to have federal government pay for the construction of protective dunes has caused townships, neighborhoods, and residents to divide. There have even been some protests on the boardwalk in Trenton, demanding an end to the Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to build dunes from Manasquan Inlet to Island Beach State Park. Some of these plans to have an engineered beach, would take home owners properties away, and forcing people to move. The dunes are what stands between the residents of New Jersey, and the next big hurricane storm. Earlier this year, Hurricane Joaquin, gave the residents a scare, and tested the dune defense systems. I feel bad for the home owners who have to deal with problems like this, when they could have been stopped earlier, with strong flood defense systems to begin with. If our coastal communities were prepared and ready in the first place, maybe the amount of devastation and destruction would be cut in half.
Mcgeehan, P. (2015, October 30). Acrimony at Jersey Shore Over Plan to Build Protective Dunes. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/nyregion/acrimony-at-jersey-shore-over-plan-to-build-protective-dunes.html
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.