Hudson River towns vulnerable to severe weather

ALBANY -- More flooded roads, washed out train lines, parks underwater -- it sounds like the dire post-Sandy warnings about the New York City region's future. But the same kind of issues loom over the towns along the Hudson River.

Since superstorm Sandy sent a storm surge of around 6 feet up the river, officials and advocates have focused intently on identifying vulnerable places along the Hudson. Scenic Hudson, a conservation group working with river communities, will soon debut interactive maps that will allow users to see where high tide could reach in the future from Yonkers to Troy.

"We often forget to think of all the Hudson riverfront communities as being coastal communities, but they are," said Sacha Spector, Scenic Hudson's director of conservation science. "And they're going to face many of the same kinds of coastal hazards that the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey face."

The 150 miles of Hudson River between New York Harbor and Troy is an estuary in sync with the ocean's tides. If severe weather events become more common and ocean levels rise, as many scientists project, land along that tidal stretch of river will be vulnerable, too.

Looming threats involve not only the possibility of more frequent severe rains, but the risk that rising sea levels will swell the Hudson and extend its flood plain. A December 2010 task force report to the Legislature projected potential sea-level increases of 1 to 9 inches in the mid-Hudson Valley and Capital Region, with higher jumps farther south. By the 2080s, the river's rise could be measured in feet.

A big rise could threaten riverside development in the suburbs north of New York City and the greener spaces farther north. The riverside rail lines running from Manhattan to Albany that carry Metro-North commuters, Amtrak passengers and freight could be affected.