Storm track, 1 a.m., August 28
Hurricane Irene is moving through New Jersey, according to the latest projections moving just along the coast, brushing the Island Beach State Park area. Heavy rains here in Jersey City at 1 a.m. National Hurricane Center predicting secondary landfall near the Rockaways. History after the jump:
The Hudson and East Rivers converged during an 1821 hurricane, pushing water up to Canal Street. Which was actually a canal at the time.
Reaching the City on September 3, 1821, the storm was one of the only hurricanes believed to have passed directly over parts of modern New York City. The tide rose 13 feet in one hour and inundated wharves, causing the East River to converge into the Hudson River across lower Manhattan as far north as Canal Street. However, few deaths were attributed to the storm because flooding was concentrated in neighborhoods with far fewer homes than exist today.
Unfortunately, it's not low tide:
According to the latest census figures, just over 8 million people currently live inside New York City. In 1821, that number stood at 152,000.
A stroke of luck hit the city as the hurricane came through at low tide, something historians believe kept everything north of Canal Street safe from massive flooding.
Ships just to the east of Manhattan were blown ashore onto Long Island, and in one case, killed 17 people as their vessel sank.
The other day when I was riding in the park I noticed the water was unusually high. That's not going to help things around here.
1893:
Although not a hurricane, the West Indian Cyclone in 1893 was just as vicious. According to the WSJ, it "carried sailing ships to Sixth Avenue, created a river on Canal Street that briefly connected the East River and the Hudson, swept much of Coney Island into the sea and entirely destroyed a barrier beach called Hog Island that once lay south of the Rockaways in Queens."
Follow on Twitter for more through the storm.
D.C.
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