397 - Death by Sewer Pipe: Understanding Safety Needs for Infrastructure in a Changing Landscape

Climate change is creating the potential for larger precipitation events as warmer air can hold more water vapor in the atmosphere and can increase precipitation. But the risk of a flooding event is not determined by rainfall intensity and totals alone, a flood is the interaction of the rainfall with the landscape. Climate change has the potential to increase a flood plain, albeit marginally; however, what may be more important to the safety of individuals is the need for increased awareness of a flood plain in an environment that has been altered by modern development. Hurricane Ida was a deadly storm making landfall in Louisiana and continued devastation across the United States as a post-tropical cyclone. In New Jersey alone, the devastating flooding brought on by Ida claimed the lives of 30 individuals. In a widely circulated story, two individuals were sucked into a “sewer” pipe, resulting in the death of one. This presentation evaluates the events leading up to the night of September 1, 2021, the tragic events as Ida passed across Central New Jersey, particularly the towns of Piscataway and South Plainfield, and asserts the fatality was not caused by a storm sewer pipe.