This tool is intended to help the public understand, in a general way, some potential future vulnerabilities to changing sea levels, waves, tides, and surges in the New York and New Jersey areas. There are 3 basic steps:
Step 1: Obtain the advisory base flood elevation (BFE) in your location using the FEMA BFE map below. BFE Information is available now for the following New Jersey Counties: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union. The BFEs are provided by FEMA to help communities better understand current flood risks and ensure structures are rebuilt stronger and safer to reduce the impact of similar events in the future.
Step 2: Identify whether your location is in the area covered by the New York Panel on Climate Change (NPCC 2013),1 which is the five boroughs of New York (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island). If your location is in New Jersey (Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union Counties) or New York (Westchester County or Long Island), you will use the NOAA sea level rise scenarios from their December 2012 report.
Step 3: Enter the BFE/best available elevation into the sea-level rise calculator. For NPCC 2013 scenarios, the tide gauge at The Battery is default. Otherwise, for areas outside NYC, select the appropriate NOAA gauge closest to your location. The calculated table provides information for you to consider in preparing for potential future considerations.
For additional information, you can view the map provided by NOAA to see the sea-level scenarios, and compare to the USACE scenarios and USACE published guidance (pdf).
This Interactive Map of Advisory Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) is produced by FEMA.
View the Quick Start Guide for this viewer.
1 New York City Panel on Climate Change, 2013: Climate Risk Information 2013: Observations, Climate Change Projections, and Maps. C. Rosenzweig and W. Solecki (Editors), NPCC2. Prepared for use by the City of New York Special Initiative on Rebuilding and Resiliency. New York, NY.