God dammit, Sandy… Can’t you just go away forever already? Six months after the hurricane devastated the East Coast, many are still left without homes or schools to send their children to. And now, this shit.
According to a report just released by Climate Central, Sandy caused more than 10.9 BILLION gallons of untreated sewage to flood into streets and waterways throughout the East Coast. Caused mostly by coastal flooding, this is more than a minor issue for both the environment and public health.
If you need help visualizing 11 billion gallons of shit, that would be about 50 times the volume of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, or the equivalent of Central Park packed 41 feet high with urine and excrement. The majority of the spillage took place here in New York, amounting to nearly $2 billion in damage. Lovely.
Climate Central conducted this research as part of larger studies on climate change. The nonprofit’s researchers predict that due to climate change, we will continue experiencing heavy Sandy-like storms — and, they warn, our sewage plants aren’t prepared.
If you can stomach it, explore Climate Cental’s interactive graphic below.
