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Prepared in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Monitoring Storm Tide and Flooding from Hurricane Sandy Along the Atlantic Coast of the United States, October 2012

By Brian E. McCallum, Shaun M. Wicklein, Robert G. Reiser, Ronald Busciolano, Jonathan Morrison, Richard J. Verdi, Jaime A. Painter, Eric R. Frantz, and Anthony J. Gotvald

Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level and barometric pressure sensors at 224 locations along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Maine to continuously record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. These records were greatly supplemented by an extensive post-flood high-water mark (HWM) flagging and surveying campaign from November to December 2012 involving more than 950 HWMs. Both efforts were undertaken as part of a coordinated federal emergency response as outlined by the Stafford Act under a directed mission assignment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Revised April 8, 2013 First posted February 27, 2013 Report PDF (2.42 MB) Excel data files: Table 2 - GNSS/NGS elevation differences Table 3 - Storm tides-temporary sites Table 4 - Storm tides-USGS sites Table 5 - Storm tides-NOAA sites Table 6 - High-water marks For additional information contact: Chief, Office of Surface Water U.S. Geological Survey MS 415 National Center Reston, VA 20192 http://water.usgs.gov/osw/ Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.

Suggested citation:

McCallum, B.E., Wicklein, S.M., Reiser, R.G., Busciolano, Ronald, Morrison, Jonathan, Verdi, R.J., Painter, J.A., Frantz, E.R., and Gotvald, A.J., 2013, Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Sandy along the Atlantic coast of the United States, October 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013–1043, 42 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1043/.

Contents

Introduction

Hurricane Sandy Storm-Tide Monitoring

Elevation Surveys

Data Presentation

Acknowledgments

References Cited