Hurricane Sandy's Impact on the United Nations in 2012

Hurricane Sandy's Unprecedented Impact

• ⚠️ The United Nations recognized the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy as a critical incident due to its unprecedented level and size, with no equivalent in over a hundred years.
• 🌊 The UN compound's location on the East River placed it at the forefront of the storm's effects.

Major Damage to UN Facilities

• 💥 By Tuesday morning, significant damage to the United Nations became evident.
• 📈 The storm surge, higher than predicted, overtopped the FDR drive and service drives, reaching the 3B level of the UN.
• 💧 The surge then inundated lower levels, causing heavy damage to the print shop, including equipment and documents.
• 📚 Fortunately, critical archival materials in the library were undamaged.

Climate Change and Extreme Weather

• 🌍 While attributing any single storm to climate change is difficult, the speaker emphasizes that extreme weather due to climate change is the new normal.
• ⚠️ Ignoring this uncomfortable truth is done at our peril.