There may have been a few snow showers and squalls around the Boston area today but that was certainly no match for the onslaught Mother Nature served up 30 years ago during the infamous Blizzard of 1978.
But suppose a similar storm battered New England today. Would the region, especially Massachusetts’ South Shore, be better prepared? How would damage estimates compare? Those are questions Globe South set out to answer in this article published today.
The story contends that though the area may be better prepared from an emergency response and communications standpoint, a surge in shoreline development and coastal erosion from smaller storms make leave the region more vulnerable to another “Storm of the Century.”
In the Globe piece, Massachusetts state coastal geologist Rebecca Haney said erosion has placed more homes in the flood plain. Additionally, new construction has exacerbated the problem while a transition from summer cottages in 1978 to year round homes in 2008 would also increase damages.
Of course, improvements in construction techniques and tighter building codes negate some of these effects. And, grants are helping towns and community organizations implement mitigation measures.
While on co-op at the Patriot Ledger, I was able to cover several Nor’easters. Although none caused serious coastal damage, I did learn about some efforts residents are doing to lessen storm impact on their towns’ coastlines. These include planting dune grass, whose roots trap sand, limiting the effects of erosion. (see this story).
Amid the flurry of features and recaps New England news organizations have produced recently about the Blizzard of 1978, those like the Globe piece stand out because they are not simply recounting the storm (an interesting and worthy piece of journalism in itself) but applying it and post-storm actions to present day issues.
As an aside, the Patriot Ledger and Brockton Enterprise have a special Web page with first hand accounts of the Blizzard through text and video and some photographs of storm cleanup. Below is one video featuring Brockton, Mass. fire chief Kenneth Galligan.
Though the presentation is not nearly as interactive and multimedia-based as other features on news Web sites, it certainly has some interesting storm stories, including one from a mother to her daughter who was away at college during the Blizzard.
But suppose a similar storm battered New England today. Would the region, especially Massachusetts’ South Shore, be better prepared? How would damage estimates compare? Those are questions Globe South set out to answer in this article published today.
The story contends that though the area may be better prepared from an emergency response and communications standpoint, a surge in shoreline development and coastal erosion from smaller storms make leave the region more vulnerable to another “Storm of the Century.”
In the Globe piece, Massachusetts state coastal geologist Rebecca Haney said erosion has placed more homes in the flood plain. Additionally, new construction has exacerbated the problem while a transition from summer cottages in 1978 to year round homes in 2008 would also increase damages.
Of course, improvements in construction techniques and tighter building codes negate some of these effects. And, grants are helping towns and community organizations implement mitigation measures.
While on co-op at the Patriot Ledger, I was able to cover several Nor’easters. Although none caused serious coastal damage, I did learn about some efforts residents are doing to lessen storm impact on their towns’ coastlines. These include planting dune grass, whose roots trap sand, limiting the effects of erosion. (see this story).
Amid the flurry of features and recaps New England news organizations have produced recently about the Blizzard of 1978, those like the Globe piece stand out because they are not simply recounting the storm (an interesting and worthy piece of journalism in itself) but applying it and post-storm actions to present day issues.
As an aside, the Patriot Ledger and Brockton Enterprise have a special Web page with first hand accounts of the Blizzard through text and video and some photographs of storm cleanup. Below is one video featuring Brockton, Mass. fire chief Kenneth Galligan.
Though the presentation is not nearly as interactive and multimedia-based as other features on news Web sites, it certainly has some interesting storm stories, including one from a mother to her daughter who was away at college during the Blizzard.
Photo by Flickr member Sister72. Some rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment