Corps of Engineers helps pump NYC floodwaters

By ARNEWSNovember 9, 2012

Caven Point Marine Terminal
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Pumping water from Battery Park underpass
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Water pours into New York Harbor from pumps displacing water flooding the Battery Park underpass in lower Manhattan in New York City, Nov. 2, 2012. The 249th Engineer Batalion (Prime Power) is continuing its work of alleviating flooding caused by Hur... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Corps support in lower Manhattan
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – An engineer with the Headquarters unit of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers walks between two command post vehicles in lower Manhattan in New York City, Nov. 3, 2012. The Corps is providing critical components and support to the recovery effort after ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Harbor cleanup crew
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WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Nov. 2, 2012) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping pump water out flooded New York City and providing generators to temporarily restore electricity to areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy in both New York and New Jersey.

The Corps of Engineers has more than 500 people engaged to support the response mission and has received a total of 35 mission assignments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 249th Engineer Battalion and other power response teams have been deployed to provide assistance, along with other technical experts from the Corps.

The Corps of Engineers has provided 96 truckloads of water to New Jersey and 80 truckloads of water to areas hit by the storm in West Virginia.

Corps teams are clearing debris from ports and waterways in both New Jersey and New York. Other teams remain on alert for additional debris management, commodities distribution, infrastructure assessment, temporary roofing, critical public facilities, water planning, and temporary housing, officials said. They said additional temporary power teams have also been placed on alert status.

The Corps is concentrating its pumping efforts to help with flood mitigation at 11 critical locations as determined by New York City officials:

-- Battery Underpass/West Street Underpass

-- Brooklyn Battery Tunnel

-- Queens Midtown Tunnel

-- Rockaway Wastewater Treatment Plant

-- Passaic Valley Sewage

-- South Ferry Station

-- Jersey City PATH train station

-- World Trade Center site

-- 14th Street Tunnel

-- 53rd Street Tunnel

-- Montague Street Tunnel.

One large Navy salvage pump was transported by barge to assist with the Battery Park Tunnel Underpass. The Corps will be pumping an estimated 10-million gallons of water out of the Battery Park Underpass, estimated to take 24 hours to complete.

The Corps has shipped 12 eight-inch pumps and 13 six-inch pumps from New Orleans in order to support the flood mitigation mission assigned by FEMA. A team is coordinating with the Navy to determine availability and capacity to transport other large pumps, officials said.

More than 25 Corps team leaders or assistants have been alerted or deployed to provide public works and engineering expertise to include damage modeling, storm surge modeling, and coastal preparations.

(Information provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Office.)

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