Real-time ocean surge warning system, meadowlands district of New Jersey

ABSTRACT

Low-lying coastal, residential and industrial areas are of great concern to emergency managers because of their susceptibility to tidal flooding and sea level surge. Fairly accurate warnings of sea surges do exist, as does information about property and infrastructure elevation; however, few spatially explicit warning systems are currently operational. Water level predictions, along with property and infrastructure elevation and real-time conditions of tide-gates, are key elements to any ocean surge warning system. Moreover, maps and associated demographics showing affected areas must reach emergency managers in a timely fashion. This work, conducted and sponsored by a State regional planning agency (New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, NJMC) integrates existing surge warnings from NOAA, sensor readings from tide gates and spatial information about the Meadowlands Estuary of New Jersey into a real-time ocean surge warning system. At least three hours in advance of high water the system produces detailed maps of 14 Municipalities in the estuary showing properties most likely to be affected. A sensor system deployed at critical tide-gates continuously reports on water levels and is used to re-draw maps in case of catastrophic tide-gate failure. Versions of these maps and their associated property information are automatically emailed to a subscriber based list of emergency managers and town officials. Finally, during and after each event, 14 pre-defined locations are field inspected and used for model recalibration. The study describes how tide-gates are remotely monitored, how models are recalibrated and how the information is integrated and automatically communicated to emergency responders.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.5 On-line Information Services

Additional Classification:
  J. Computer Applications
  J.7 COMPUTERS IN OTHER SYSTEMS

Keywords:
emergency management, emergency management system, flood, information dissemination, real-time ocean surge warnings, sensor network, sensor system, tide gates