Thousands of public facilities in New Jersey, including critical emergency-response assets, are at risk of being flooded in a severe storm, a new analysis finds.
Maps released by Rebuild by Design, a New York non-profit, show a 100-year flood would threaten police stations, hospitals and fire departments around the state — as well as power and water facilities and airports. The group says New Jersey should borrow several billion dollars to improve flood-resilience statewide.
Jennifer Coffey, executive director for the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, said she hopes the maps encourage policymakers and the public to make the state more resilient against extreme-weather events.
“If your police and fire stations are flooded and they can’t get out to help people in an emergency, you’re in a whole host of trouble,” said Coffey, whose group was not involved in the analysis. “If your kid’s school is flooded and the road there is flooded — you’re talking about people’s lives.”
