A string of artificial islands off the coast of New Jersey and New York could blunt the impact of storm surges that proved so deadly during Superstorm Sandy, according to a new proposal.
It's a big proposal, one that would cost up to USD 12 billion, but it's also the kind of innovative idea that federal officials requested as they consider how best to protect the heavily populated East Coast from future storms.
"Yes, it's a big deal. It can save lives and protect property," Alan Blumberg, a professor at New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology.
The "Blue Dunes" proposal is part of a competition sponsored by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to come up with novel ways to protect Americans against the next big storm.
It is one of 10 projects that will be evaluated and voted on next week, but there's no guarantee any of them will receive funding.
Other ideas include building sea walls around cities, re-establishing oyster colonies in tidal flats to blunt waves and creating water-absorbent nature and recreational preserves.
The artificial islands plan was created by Stevens Institute, along with the WXY architectural firm and West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture.
It is designed to blunt the worst effect of Sandy: the storm surge that pounded the coast. From Maryland to New Hampshire, the storm was blamed for 159 deaths, and New Jersey and New York alone claimed a total of nearly USD 79 billion in damage.
"How do you protect New Jersey and New York at the same time from the storm of the future?" Blumberg asked. "Our idea is to build a chain of islands, like a long slender banana. The wave action and storm surge will reflect off these islands and go back out to sea rather than hitting the coast.
