ROLE MODEL: Hoboken Getting Nod From the United Nations for Flood Preparedness

Hoboken will be formally recognized as a “Role Model City” for flood preparedness, citing the City’s continuing efforts to mitigate flooding and defend against cataclysmic onslaughts like that which followed Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction will be on hand to present a certificate to the Mayor in a ceremony on Pier A tonight, April 28, at 7:00 p.m.

The UNISDR’s mission is “to serve as the focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations system and regional organizations and activities in socio-economic and humanitarian fields.”

Hoboken Train Terminal Near Pier A—12 hours BEFORE Superstorm Sandy’s Storm Surge Overwhelmed the PATH Train System

The City of Hoboken’s Rebuild By Design project is seen by many as a proactive approach to addressing the various flooding threats faced by Hoboken—a densely populated urban environment that is precariously located at or below sea level in the mouth of the Hudson River.

The plan is specifically tailored to address the threat of storms similar to Sandy. The strategy deploys programmed hard infrastructure and soft landscape for coastal defense (resist); policy recommendations, guidelines, and urban infrastructure to slow rainwater runoff (delay); a circuit of interconnected green infrastructure to store and direct excess rainwater (store); and water pumps and alternative routes to support drainage (discharge). The award is expected to fund the implementation of the “Resist” element of the strategy.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially begins June 1st.