![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexblock.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/315854-hurricane-sandy-satellite-images.jpg\" "\\"315854-hurricane-sandy-satellite-images\\"")
<\/a>Hurricane Sandy from NASA GOES-13<\/p><\/div>\n
Prediction<\/strong>: As the son of a meteorologist, I feel obligated to note that this storm was very well forecast. \u00a0Given a broader critique of science on a number of fronts, the accuracy of the forecast and the warning it provided is worth noting. \u00a0For other examples of pushback against reason, see:\u00a0Frontline on climate change<\/a>; the various reactions<\/a> against<\/a> Nate Silver; Michael Gerson’s trouble understanding statistics<\/a>, etc. (I thought Ta Nehisi Coates has written well<\/a> in response to this assault on logic, reason, and objectivity). Nate Silver devoted a chapter to meteorology in his recent book<\/a>, much of which is discussed in this teaser<\/a> in the New York Times<\/em>\u00a0entitled “The weatherman is not a moron.”<\/p>\n Accurate prediction for storms like this gives lots of time to prepare. While I was attending<\/a> the NACTO conference in New York, I had a chance to visit NYC DOT’s traffic management center<\/a> in Long Island City on Friday afternoon before Sandy hit; city officials were preparing for the storm well in advance at the time, thanks to a good forecast.<\/p>\n Resiliency: <\/strong>Prediction can help you prepare on a shorter timescale, but ensuring our cities are resilient to these kinds of events requires a whole host of other adaptations. Some ideas:<\/p>\n Recovery: <\/strong>Leaving aside the opportunities for hardening vulnerable infrastructure like New York’s subway, the response and rather fast recovery of New York’s subway system (given the extent of flooding) is remarkable. \u00a0New York Magazine tells the story<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n
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